Paint the Sky with Stars
by Primi-tan
Summary: They are immortal lovers, surviving together through the tragedies, happinesses, and mysteries of time. A collection of KiddxFemale!Chrona oneshots and drabbles based on songs by the singer Enya. Some canon, some AU. COMPLETE
1. Evening Falls

_**Author's Notes:**_ Howdy ho! This is where I will be dumping most of my fluffy KiddxChrona ideas, each inspired by a song from the beautiful, soothing albums of Irish singer Enya, an artist from the Highlands only surpassed by U2. So, most of these will be fluffy little drabbles, although it may be angsty at times, everything will turn out fine in the end. I will try to refrain myself from lemon, since every other KiddxChrona piece of writing I've attempted has turned to smut, but I will not hold back from steamy or sexy parts. You can find the songs on Youtube if you want to listen. Some of these oneshots, by the way, may or may not be inspired by songs with only vocalizing, so if it doesn't have lyrics at the beginning, then that means it's that kind of song. Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_As I walk the road_

_there before me a shadow  
_

_From another world_

_Where no other can follow.  
_

_Carry me to my own_

_to where I can cross over...  
_

_Close to home - I cannot say. _

_Close to home, feeling so far away._

XXXXX

Evening Falls

**Shibusen, 8:30 P.M...**

"And that's Capricorn, the sea goat."

"Where?"

"Right there."

Chrona spotted the formation after another few seconds of searching, hidden in the mass of stars above her. There was no grinning moon tonight, so the world was only lit by the sea of glittering, tiny lights in the sky. She did get a nice view of the night scenery here, on the academy's balcony that overlooked Death City and the desert that surrounded it. The pinkette loved stars, since she never got to see them as a child, courtesy of Medusa.

With a confused blink, she turned to her companion for the night, who had been doing repairs on one of the many decorative spikes on the school, broken once again by Black*Star.

"Um, Kidd-kun?" She asked quietly. "I-I don't get how people can see images from using so few stars."

The Shinigami smiled softly, leaning away from the wall of the balcony. It was nice being with him alone. They were good friends...well, more than that. Maybe friends with benefits, since they had a strange tendency to make-out with each other in empty hallways during lunch and between classes, in janitor closets, and in the classrooms after school had ended for the day ever since Kishin Asura was defeated.

Even though she didn't know how to deal with it,Chrona really liked where this relationship was going.

"Well, some people use their imaginations to see such things." Kidd told her, gently clasping her hand "Humans have been relying on the sky for centuries. To tell time, when to plant, when to harvest, to tell stories and myths. Such knowledge of the sky dates back to Egyptian times."

"W-wow." Chrona murmured, turning her attention back to the stars. It was easy to find Orion, and see the great warrior, but she couldn't understand how two little lights would make up Canis Major, as Kidd called it. How could anyone see it as a dog?

Time began to pass, and Chrona found herself leaning on Kidd's shoulder, growing sleepy, as he told her stories of the great hero Perseus who did good deeds, how he tricked Atlas, and cut off the original Gorgons head. Chrona's mother was named after such a mythical creature due to her power as a snake witch.

Kidd paused in his talking when he noticed the shy pinkette dozing off, her soft, powder blue eyes heavy with exhaustion. Kidd knew from Maka that she had been suffering from nightmares lately, and therefore hadn't been sleeping enough. He sighed through his nose, picking up the sleepy girl bridal style, much to her surprise.

"K-K-Kidd-kun, w-what're you-"

"You need some sleep, Chrona." Kidd told her firmly, walking inside the school to take her to her cell like room. "Don't want to doze off again during class tomorrow, now do you?"

With a sigh, the pinkette nodded, gradually growing limper in his grip as he got closer to her room. By the time he was at her steel door, she was out like a light.

Kidd gently laid her slender body onto her mattress, pulling the blanket up so it shielded her body from the somewhat chilly autumn night. Despite the expressionless look on her face, The Shinigami knew it would eventually contort with fear as she was plunged into a nightmare world no one could rid her of.

Or...maybe not.

He wanted to help her, but why, he didn't know. As the Meister leaned over her limp, tired form, he thought back to that first time, when she caught his eye. It was a simple act of clumsiness, on her part, when he was talking with her one day after class. She had started forward to get past him, on her way to lunch after their conversation ended, when she tripped over her own feet and crashed into him. Her mouth collided with his for a brief moment, before she leaped away, turning a deep black color and completely flustered. Kidd, not knowing what he was thinking, immediately captured her lips again, unable to control his Shinigami Imprinting impulse. Now, his eyes were only for Chrona.

_"I...I wonder if I can..."_ Kidd swallowed, leaning down closer to Chrona He got down on his knees by her bed and gently pressed his forehead to hers, shutting his eyes. A second afterward, Kidd became completely rigid, his mind somewhere else.

XXXXXX

_He was floating above what seemed like a small, sand covered planet. A beach, more or less. There was a vast ocean covering a majority of it, glowing in the night sky around him. There was no moon, but the scenery was pretty, nonetheless._

"_Is this...what her soul looks like?"_

_A soul was indeed a strange thing. When two people resonate and look into each others souls, they will see a physical projection, based of what the person is like. Kidd had seen what his weapons looked like. For Liz, it was a soothing beauty spa, for Patti, and African savannah laden with giraffes._

_So, this ocean represented Chrona's soul._

_He scanned the beaches, eyes keen. And then he spotted her, sitting before the breaking waves. This miniature version of his friend had a stick in her hand. Her gaze was fixed on the water, looking fearful._

_Feeling brave, Kidd allowed himself to touch down on the sand. He walked over to the pinkette, who didn't look up._

_Strange, but...suddenly, she didn't seem so small._

"_Hello?" He asked, not really registering how young his voice sounded. The small girl started, her teary blue eyes widening as she looked at him. Chrona jumped in fright._

"_H-how did you get here?" She asked, shaking slightly. Kidd smiled at her innocently._

"_I followed you." He looked out onto the ocean. "You have a very pretty soul."_

_Chrona blushed a light gray color, looking down at the sandy floor. "I don't know how to deal with this..." She murmured as Kidd stepped closer to where beach became ocean. He gazed upon the shimmering sea, and narrowed his eyes when he saw something strange out on the water._

"_What's that?" He asked. It seemed to be coming closer. The pinkette backed away from the ocean in fear. The strange thing on the horizon looked like mist._

"_S-she's coming." The girl muttered fearfully, immediately cowering away. "It's so scary!"_

_The fog rolled onto the beach, blocking out the clear night sky and shrouding the small planet with misty darkness. Kidd, feeling protective, stepped in front of Chrona as the water began to ripple._

_Something that looked like the head of a snake began to emerge from the depths, sending a hungry glare at the shaking pinkette. Kidd was absurdly reminded of the Loch Ness monster as more of it's massive head began to appear._

_He stood his ground, sending equally venomous glares to the monster as it began to approach. Kidd stepped forward, clenching his small hands into fists. The monster hesitated, drawing back somewhat. Chrona, who was cowering behind him, peeked out of her hands to look._

"_W-what...?" She whispered as the creature retreated. "How...how did you-"_

"_It won't bother you anymore." Kidd said in satisfaction after the snake-like monster vanished back into the water. The fog disappeared, once again making way for the stars to shine onto the ocean._

_The Shinigami was startled when the small girl suddenly collapsed into his equally sized body, knocking him down onto the sand on his rear. In an instant, his shirt was soaked with tears._

_"I-it w-w-would always c-come at n-night." She cried. "L-like M-M-Medusa-sama..."_

"_It won't bother you anymore!" Kidd laughed, petting her pretty pink hair. "I'll scare it away every time!"_

_The small girl pulled away, smiling at him through her tears._

"_Thank you..."_

XXXXXX

Kidd was abruptly pulled away from the small world, opening his eyes to stare at a pair of tear-stained blue ones. He leaned back slightly to observe the wide-awake girl.

Her face was streaked with hot salt water from crying, but there was a grateful smile on her face. She sat up, throwing her arms around the kneeling Shinigami and burying her face into his shoulder.

"K-Kidd-kun..." She whispered. With a soft sigh of content, Kidd climbed up into the bed with Chrona and wrapped his arms around her, whispering softly into her ear.

"I'll be here for you, Chrona." Kidd brushed his lips along her ear, feeling her shiver violently at his touch. Her mouth strayed from his shoulder to his neck, legs suddenly straddling his waist. His breathing became heavier, but he managed to continue. "I'll always chase away your nightmares."

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ YAY! Moar fluff!~ It was actually the KiddxChrona pairing that got me into SE. So I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for this OTP, and a story ready to tell about these two. Well, there will be more to come, so I hope everyone stays tuned!


	2. Storms in Africa I

_**Author's Notes:**_This one's kinda Chrona-centric, not really much Kidd in this one, but I personally like it a whole lot.

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Cá fhad é ó_

_An tús don stoirm._

_An tús go deiradh._

_Tóg do Chroí._

_Tóg do chroísa._

XXXXXX

Storms in Africa I

**Shibusen, 3:30 P.M...**

It was rare for the heavens to open their gates and pour water onto the sandy ground at Death City. Even more so for an all-out thunderstorm to form.

Chrona sat on her bed, her homework done, not wanting to really go anywhere with Maka, Soul, and her friends. She had, after all, just been into the academy after her betrayal. And she knew for a fact that not everyone still liked her after that. It was best for her to just stay away from everyone.

The pinkette drew her knees closer to her body, shivering as the cold air drifted in from outside and replaced the stagnant air of her cell-like room. Fortunately, the rain had yet to start, but when it did, Chrona would have to leave them room, even though she knew how to deal with storms, now.

She longed for comfort, for companionship, anyone to stay with her as she waited for the storm to end so she could sleep peacefully. Ragnarok, long since dead after being drained from her body, could no longer do that. She missed her weapon dearly, no matter how big of a jerk he had been to her.

With a sigh of exhaustion and grief, the girl heaved herself off the bed, not bothering to put her shoes on, and walked out quietly into the empty halls of the school.

No one was there, except maybe Shinigami-sama, but he was probably up in his cavernous room checking in on the other Meister's and weapons out destroying Kishin Eggs. Her bare feet were silenced by the carpet as she wandered the school, not knowing what she was looking for.

Her mind was clouded over with sadness, expecting for her demon sword to pop out of her back at any given second. She aimlessly moved her body in whatever direction it wanted to be going in. It was easier this way than dealing with the pain in her heart; to just zone out and forget.

Chrona was pulled back to reality when a droplet of water hit her face. OK, maybe not one, but a few. Then more.

It was then that the pinkette realized that her feet had carried her outside to the balcony that overlooked the desert.

The storm had broken.

Common sense told her to go back inside, get out of the wet and cold, not risk making her body sick, but something held her back. Something that kept her from moving backwards at all.

She didn't know what feeling made her slowly step outside into the chilly air. Her pale blue eyes turned to the sky. The dark gray heavens above sent the rain onto her thin form, drenching it, soaking through her black dress, making it cling to her body.

Her feet continued their journey forward as her bare feet walked on the wet stone, stepping the puddles that formed in the slight dips in the ground. It felt nice against the skin of her toes.

She reached the railing, leaned on it and looked out to the dark desert. It was normally bathed in sunlight, so seeing it covered with the swirling gray clouds was new...and relaxing. Streaks of an even darker color that drifted from the masses of precipitation signified the amount of rain being poured into other places on the Nevada sands.

By now, her lavender hair stuck to her face, but she didn't mind. Chrona heaved herself up on the railing, draping her legs over it and watching the storm drench the city built around Death himself.

A flash of light, jagged and brief caught her attention. It was so fast, but what followed was a low rumble.

The pinkette was absurdly reminded of drums.

Low, soothing, and strong.

The beat of war, of strength, of dignity, bravery.

The rain fell harder. Her hearing was suddenly so sharp. She heard the sound of the water droplets hitting the stone of the balcony.

Like many, many feet stomping on the ground at once.

A steady, easy rhythm.

Dancing.

She shut her eyes, her turned skyward and feeling the rain hit her face, streaking down her cheeks.

Chrona listened.

Thunder cracked again, louder this time. The noise reverberated through her body, making her shiver to the core, but not from the cold.

More and more, the strong, steady drums beat, backing the many feet dancing all at once.

The wind swirled around her, whispering at times, and howling at others. Whether it was trying to blow Chrona off the balcony or not, she didn't know. It blew more of the icy rain into her already cold body, but it wasn't in any way uncomfortable.

She picked up soft voices at the edge of the noises, singing with the drums and the pounding, rhythmic feet. It was a lovely melody, touching the pinkette's core and bringing something of a feeling of Zen to her. She couldn't understand the words.

Chrona tuned out the feeling of being cold, of being numb, of being sad.

She listened.

Drums beat.

Feet danced.

Wind sang.

Her legs swung in time with the rhythm.

It was an orchestra; a concert; symphony of baritone and soprano and alto sound.

The instruments were simply the elements of a thunderstorm. The song rose and fell, yet to reached its magnificent climax, but slowly, it built up.

Then it hit; a great boom of fire and noise from above, sending the soundwaves echoed from directly above her to the desert all around. The stamping feet moved as quickly as they could, and the wind's singing hit one beautiful, wonderful soprano note as the song hit it's peak.

The sounds began to ebb away, the falling action of the song, coming to rest on one final, humming vocalization and the gentle strumming of the thunder.

Water dripped off her wet body. It cleansed her.

Tears were pouring down her face. More out of letting go than grieving for her loss. They disappeared with the falling rain. Fresh water washed away the salt water.

Directly from the ocean of her soul.

She felt so much better on the inside.

"Chrona!"

A voice pulled her trance. She gasped quietly, coming back to reality when a hand was laid onto her shoulder. She swirled around, surprised at who it was.

"S-Shinigami-kun..." She whispered in surprise. With a jolt, she realized that the concert had ended. The rain had lessened down to a drizzle, and the padding footsteps had ceased to be heard; the drums to tiny little grumbles, the beat was gone; the wind to simple breezes, murmuring goodbyes and 'thank-you-for-listening' to her.

The Meister in question looked at her in concern, his golden eyes glittering softly in worry. He wasn't that wet, surprisingly. "I was coming back to deliver a report to Chichue, and I saw you sitting out here. What were you thinking? You could've been hit by lightning!"

"O-Oh...ummm..." Chrona trailed off, at a complete loss for words. How was she supposed to explain this? Her nose twitched, and a soft sneeze escaped her.

Strange, she didn't feel cold. Her body seemed to have lost feeling.

"Looks like you have a cold." Kidd murmured, helping her off the railing. Chrona, surprised by how weak her legs was, simply buckled underneath her. The Shinigami caught her easily.

"You're freezing." He shook his head sadly, favoring to have Chrona lean on him as he guided her back inside. "I'll ask Nygus to give you some cough medicine."

"OK..." The shy pinkette agreed quietly. Her face was heating up, driving away the numbness that took hold of her entire body. His coat smiled nice, too.

"What were doing out here in the middle of a thunderstorm, anyways?" Kidd asked, looking at her curiously. His eyes then narrowed suspiciously. "You weren't...you weren't thinking about jumping, were you?"

"N-No, not at all! I...I like thunderstorms." She answered truthfully. Kidd raised an eyebrow, but smiled.

"I do to, but only when I can observe them from the inside. Maybe I should join you the next time you go out and sit while it's pouring rain.

Chrona wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but the thought of him enjoying another one of the stormy concerts with her was appealing.

"I'd like that." She whispered, leaning onto his shoulder, even though she had long since regained the ability to walk. "I'd really, really, like that Kidd-kun."

XXXXXX

_How far is it from?_

_The beginning of the storm_

_The start to the end_

_Take your heart_

_Take your beloved_

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_Hmmm, bit of angst, but I think this, overall, was really good. To truely understand this, you have to listen to the song.


	3. Amid the Falling Snow

_**Author's Notes:**_ Meh…this one's kinda short, but it's rather steamy. So, I guess that makes up for the length. ENJOY EVERYONE!~

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_How I remember sleepless nights_

_When we would read by candlelight_

_And on the windowpane outside_

_A new world made of snow_

_A million feathers falling down_

_A million stars that touch the ground_

_So many secrets to be found_

_Amid the falling snow_

XXXXXX

Amid the Falling Snow

**London, 10:30 P.M...**

What Chrona liked about snow the most was the fact that even though there were millions of little flakes hitting the ground at once, they made no noise. So much was happening outside and not one sound could be heard. Just the way the tiny crystals fell from the sky was so enchanting.

The cloud-covered night sky was a pretty, pretty, pretty orange, reflecting the lights of London, alighting the city in a soft glow. The little snowflakes appeared out of nowhere, disappearing into the blanket of snow below the deluxe suite of the hotel. The window was slightly frozen over from the cold, leaving delicate and intricate patterns of ice and frost. It didn't even look like a window anymore, more like a painting that changed with each passing minute.

With a rare, content smile on her face (which was, in truth, becoming a more and more common sight), the pinkette turned her head from the scenery outside to the book she and her boyfriend were reading quietly,**_ "Treasure Island"_**. Even though a blackout had hit their half of the city from the constant falling of the snow, they didn't mind. In fact, it made a lovely excuse to use the candles provided by the hotel employees.

There's nothing like a romantic evening after defeating an underground hideaway of Kishin Eggs, in her opinion.

The rustling of pages punctured the silence as Kidd turned the page, prompting Chrona to lean back farther into his embrace, from where she was seated between his legs. A shiver ran down her spine as the Shinigami rested his chin on her shoulder, his hot breath caressing the skin of her neck. She let out a low moan in response, her smile getting wider as she drank in the spicy, musky scent of his body and the sweet, stardust-and-roses combination of his breath. Her cheek rested on the top of his head as his free hand began to massage her other shoulder, soothing the muscles underneath her soft skin.

It was hard to read when he was so distracting, especially when he was shirtless, only in a pair of spare jeans.

Kidd seemed to tell. After flipping another page with his thumb, the hand on her shoulder wandered down, down to her bare leg, stopping at her knee and sliding back up her thigh, leaving goose-bumps in the wake and enticing another shudder from her barely covered body. The hotel suite was warm, warm enough that Chrona could wear that silky, purple babydoll that Liz had pressured her into buying, and Kidd certainly seemed tempted, but he'd never do anything without her permission.

"Are you done with this page?" Kidd whispered, startling Chrona out of her trance.

"Yes." She said quietly as Kidd turned the page. She tried to focus on the text, but found it more entertaining to watch the flickering little candles in the room cast dancing shadows on the walls, matching the orange glow of the sky outside.

As she turned her head to watch the TV's shadow do little jumps every few seconds, Kidd seemed to take up the opportunity to press his lips to the joint between shoulder and neck. Chrona involuntarily let out a moan as the tiny kisses went from chaste ones to gentle but wet nips and licks. The hand on her thigh glided up some, slipping under her lingerie and wrapped around her waist.

The pinkette vaguely heard the sound of him shutting the book and laying it down on their nightstand as his tongue curled around the shell of her ear; an obvious weak point.

"Unnnnnhhh...Kidd..." Chrona moaned softly, tilting her head back to allow him more access. As his arms tightened around her, she could feel one of his hands beginning to discard the thin straps of her babydoll.

She didn't know when she had been flipped on her back, nor when Kidd straddled her hips and started kissing her fiercely, his tongue digging into the recess of her mouth, but that didn't really matter once her hands start to tear at his jeans. All her coherent thought was long gone.

The pretty world outside them continued to send the unique snowflakes down as the two lovers stayed up late into the night, content with each other's presence.

XXXXXX

_**Author's notes:**_ Meh, just wanted to write random lime, I guess. This was more or less inspired by this drawing of two uber-awesome, non-Mary Sue OC's: ht tp :/ zarla. deviantart. com/ gallery /#/ d2olck6 So, yeah. Hope you all liked it, and I apologize once more for the shortness.


	4. On My Way Home

_**Author's Notes:**_ The only thing better than a place to come home to, is a pair of arms open and waiting for you when you get there.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_I have been given_

_one moment from heaven._

_As I am walking_

_surrounded by night_

_Stars high above me_

_make a wish under moonlight. _

_On my way home_

_I remember_

_only good days._

_I'm on my way home_

_I can remember_

_every new day._

XXXXXX

On My Way Home

**Death City, 4:30 P.M...**

Chrona let out a low moan as she came to, wondering why her body ached so much. Her skull throbbed as well, but...it felt clear. For the first time in so long, she could think. No muddled mess or haze cluttering every single rational thought. She could hear her own thoughts, not the misty and heavy static of madness.

As her brain began to function properly, feeling came back to her body. This served to heighten her pain, yes, but there was a strange warmth on the front of her body. She readily absorbed the heat, feeling better as it lessened the ache, somewhat.

Her body bobbed up and down slowly, and she could hear footsteps, right below her. With a low moan, her eyes fluttered open.

She was...in some kind of city. There was no one on the sidewalks, for some reason. It looked familiar. The light of sunset illuminated the pretty buildings.

"Finally awake?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. The pinkette weakly lifted her head to face the back of a head, covered in black hair with three stark white stripes cutting through the lightless color.

Whoever it was, she was riding on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck. He was holding her legs behind the knees, preventing her from falling off. Chrona felt thankful for that, since she really couldn't feel her own muscles.

"Do you remember me?" The boy turned his head, and her curious gaze was met with a pair of honey-gold eyes, ones that seemed to cut through her very soul. She involuntarily shivered, but couldn't recall ever meeting someone like this.

"N-not really." She mumbled, unable to speak much since her jaw hurt.

"So Medusa did erase your memory." He mused, turning his head away. Chrona gasped, a memory coming back to her in a flurry of blood and screams.

"S-she...you..."

"Yes, I killed her." He sighed. "But it seems you still can't remember anyone.

The pinkette fell silent, trying to comprehend this. She rested her head on his smooth back as he continued to carry her to where ever it was they were going. The girl did her best to comprehend the situation.

Medusa was dead...where would she go now?

"You can stay with us." The boy suddenly told her, and a jolt shook her as she realized that she had voiced the question aloud.

"B-but I...I don't know how to deal with that!" She stuttered.

"You used to know." He sighed. "Maybe you'll remember us in time."

Again, it was quiet. The Meister pondered his words as her head involuntarily buried itself in the back of his hair. It was fragrant with a scent-or, mabye two-that stirred something in the back of her mind.

"...your hair...smells nice." She whispered. The boy suddenly chuckled.

"You used to tell me that alot."

"I-I d-did?" Her face heated up as she pulled away. He turned to face her, smiling.

"Yes, you did." He snickered. "My name's Kidd, by the way, since you can't remember me."

"I..." The girl looked down, feeling saddened. "I wish I-I could. I'm sorry."

"You'll remember in due time." He murmured gently. Chrona jumped slightly when his lips brushed along her jawline.

Kidd continued onward, Chrona resting her chin on his shoulder and taking in the city surrounding them. The structure of the houses, the sidewalk patterns...it as all looking a little familiar; like a strange feeling of deja vu was stirring in her soul. Before long, the street he was walking along led to a massive staircase, with a strange looking building atop it.

"It...looks familiar." Chrona mumbled, feeling sleepy. Her eyes turned to the sky, observing a few stars that were coming into view.

"See?" Kidd said brightly. The pinkette blushed when she realized how close his face was to hers. "I told you, it just takes time."

His warm breath washed over her cheeks, and...his lips looked awfuly appealing. Chrona found herself leaning forward unconsciously. He did the same, to her surprise.

Their mouths connected lightly, and Chrona's blue eyes fluttered closed with bliss. He tasted lovely, like the stars above and the pretty red flowers the girl occasionally saw. The moment was interrupted, however, by a loud shout of triumph.

"YAAAAAAAHHOOOOOO!" She shied away behind him when a blue streak charged down the steps, jumping up and down. "YOU FOUND HER!"

"Calm down Black*Star." Kidd scolded him, throwing a concerned look to the currently defenseless swordswoman he carried on his back. "Chichue's theory was correct. She can't remember anything."

"Really? But I'm too big of a man for her to forget!"

"Yeah, yeah." The blue-haired boy joined them as Kidd trudged up the steps.

"Don't worry, Chrona!" The ninja gestured his fist, a determined look crossing his face. "We'll help you get your memory back!"

"O-OK." Chrona mumbled, looking away. The boy ran ahead, shouting something at the top of his lungs. "I really don't know how to deal with this..."

"You will soon." Kidd told her reassuringly. "And when that happens, we'll go to Death Bucks together, just like we used to."

That sounded nice, even though she couldn't remember it. Still, a smile crossed her face at the though of spending more time with her strange, new-maybe more than that-friend.

She hoped she could remember as Kidd, the lover she couldn't remember, carried her back home.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ This song is so pretty, a little sad, but still, fitting for this moment shared between them. And also, GREETINGS FROM WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT!~


	5. The Memory of Trees

_**Author's Notes:**_ The problem with being immortal is that, over time, you slowly realize that everyone around you isn't.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

The Memory of Trees

**Nakasukasa estate, 2:30 P.M...**

Leaves, in mixes of gold, brown, and red, gently flittered down onto the empty estate. Sunlight filtered through the many leaves still attatched to their branches, being stubborn and refusing to let go, and let a soft, autumn glow light the family cemetary. The graves were littered with these leaves, dead flowers, and other debris from over a long time of neglect.

Two figures, both clad in swirling black cloaks of some bizaar fabric, walked down the leaf-covered pathway, their attire making them stick out like a sore thumb against the rest of the warmly colored area. They walked with precision, grace, and dignity and stopped before two of the tombstones.

"It's been so long." The male sighed, leaning down to wipe away the many dried stalks and leaves away from the carved, somewhat faded words. "I'm amazed that this place is still around."

"Mmmm." The female agreed silently, joining her husband as he lightly traced the name on the grave. "I remember that he wanted to outlive you."

"Yeah." He snorted in bitter humor, reaching over and trailing his fingers through her long pink hair. "Trying to surpass me, even at his age."

"And his kids would cheer him on." She giggled, but then let out a long, sad sigh. "You know, that kid we ran into, back at the train station, sorta looked like Tsubaki."

"A descendant, perhaps." He agreed, turning his golden eyes, a perfect match to the pretty leaves on the ground, from the tombstone to her soft, powder blue ones. "Well, what with the fact that she was standing on top of the train proclaiming her love for her boyfriend makes me wonder if his personality is just that dominant in genes."

"Tsubaki would be proud." She laughed, and swung her gaze to the tombstone next to the one her mate had laid the first bundle of Camellia's on. "And I think she's happy to be buried next to her husband, y'know Kidd?"

"Indeed." He chuckled softly, and then stood up. "We should go visit Soul and Maka at Death City, and Chichue, while we're at it."

After standing and stretching her legs, the pinkette gently cleared off the other grave. She placed the Camellia blossoms onto the stone, sending a silent prayer to the spirit of the Chain Scythe up in heaven.

"Chrona." Her husband suddenly spoke. She turned to see him standing next to one of the trees in the burial grounds, running his hand over the bark.

"Yes, Kidd?"

"This tree was just a sapling the last time we came here." He sighed, eyes running up the magnificent trunk as it rose above the other trees. "We planted it after the Nakasukasa family was wiped out, in memory of them."

"Yes, I remember, dear." Chrona winced at the flashback that came to her forethoughts. It was not a pretty battle, and even though it was so long ago, she could remember every detail.

She covered her hand over the Shinigami's, lightly pressing her forehead to his. It was hard, living this way. Just wandering the Earth as humanity slowly crumbled, never changing, always watching them repeat the same mistakes. She opened her eyes to see Kidd's staring back at her tenderly, and shivered slightly when his powerful but loving soul brushed against hers.

A pair of warm, soft lips pressed to her cheek, skimming across it and slowly descending her neck. Chrona tilted her head back with a soft moan, allowing his mouth more access. He paused at her collarbone before pulling at the fabric of her cloak, moving on to her bare shoulder.

"Kidd, the...you know that...uuuunnnnhhhh...even the dead have ears..." She whispered, tangling her fingers into his hair as their intimate resonance continued. The Shinigami pulled away, his face flushed, but he nodded.

"Yes, sorry." He smiled at her sheepishly, took her hand. They sent one last mournful look at Black*Star and Tsubaki's resting places, and left the grounds, passing by the abandoned mansions, the moldy baths, decaying gardens.

"It's so sad that the household of such a strong family is wasting away like this." Chrona murmured, leaning onto Kidd's shoulder and nuzzling it gently.

"It is." Kidd agreed silently.

It had been very fast. Almost 50 years previously, the infamous line of weapons that was the Nakasukasa family was wiped out by a horde of Kishin Eggs. Shibusen hadn't been able to get there to assist fast enough.

So, now the two lovers stood tall amoung the rubble that was the old world, as it slowly rotted around them. Even though Chrona's first friends had all died who-knows-how-long ago, they'd always remember them. Take time to visit them every so often.

Because such bonds withstood the test of time, even if Kidd and Chrona were immune to it's relentless power.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ I always imagine this aspect to be a thing that would only strengthen their relationship. By this point in time, Raggy would most definitely be dead, whether from finding a way to seperate from Chrona and aging, or in battle.

...

And now Imma go collapse from the Disney overload. Hopefully, when I reemerge, I will have moar of my weird junk for everyone to read.


	6. Long, Long Journey: Part 1

_**Author's Notes:**_ Well, this is going to be a 3-part series, and for those of you who have read my oneshot "Love is Blindness", you'll know where this has picked up from. God, I have issues. However, I don't feel like moving this story to the crossover archives. Maybe I'm just lazy.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars "**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_City lights shine on the harbor_

_night has fallen down._

_Through the darkness_

_and the shadow_

_I will still go on._

_Long, long journey_

_through the darkness_

_long, long way to go_

_but what are miles_

_across the ocean_

_to the heart that's coming home?_

XXXXXX

Long, Long Journey: Part 1

**Outside Death City, 1:30 P.M...**

Tension crackled in the air, setting every single hair on Chrona's body on end. She didn't know how to deal with an atmosphere such as this, heck, she didn't even want to be apart of this standoff. She could feel every single dagger flying from the angry eyes to the other combatants. Keeping her eyes locked on her knees didn't seem to help her be excluded from this. The Meister got the feeling she had been caught doing a crime, and a strange sense of traitorism lingered inside her chest. Even without looking, she knew where the glares were directed.

To the shy pinkette, her weapon, and the drugged Shinigami curled up in her lap.

Half-heartedly, she once again glanced up to the staring contest. And again, she found herself shivering with fear as she gazed down into the barrels of an auto-shotgun, an M16, two twin pistols and a hunting rifle, though they weren't aimed at her. Ragnarok was perched atop her head, sending the other four his darkest look. Chrona could practically see the lightning crackling between the two groups, both huddled in different corners of the vehicle.

Kidd was awake, despite the amount of drugs Sid had pumped into him. He was sending the Survivors a frustrated and hungry look from his position on Chrona's lap, though he was completely unable to move. Another few minutes of the silent standoff passed, before one of the other group, a tattooed, gruffy looking biker, let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hey blue man!" He called up through the window, leading to the drivers seat where the undead teacher and his knife weapon sat. "You think you could've not put us in the back of the truck with a mindless Hunter and his one-night stand?"

"No room!" Nygus retorted. "Try to be patient, we're almost to Death City!"

"I hate being patient." The man groaned, prompting the elder of the four to butt him with the end of his gun. "Watch where you're pointing that thing, Bill!"

"Speak up Francis, your voice got all muffled from your head being so far up your ass!"

"Guys!" The man in the white shirt and tie interrupted. "Can we not fight while there's a zombie in the car with us?"

Frankly, Chrona was surprised that they were still alive. The four Survivors seemed to bicker like crazy.

Those two hours, in which Chrona waited for Sid to come pick her up from the Infected-filled forest in a safe house with four well-armed Survivors, was just the beginning of a tense car ride back to Shibusen. They threatened to shoot the Infected Shinigami when she let them into the safe house at last, and probably would've succeeded in killing him had Chrona not intervened. It wasn't until the actual undead zombie arrived did they put the safety back on their guns. And then came the long trek across the countryside, away from the hell that was the east side of the Mississippi River. It had taken several hours to get this far, even without the traffic that used to populate the roads.

Needless to say, Chrona felt a surge of relief when the truck pulled to a stop. Outside the armored vehicle, she could hear the familiar sounds of Death City.

"We're here." Sid stated through the window as Nygus climbed out. "Everyone stay put for a minute. We need to transport Kidd without anyone else being Infected. Chrona, you hold on tight to him when we open the backdoor."

"So now you're giving the thing a name?" Francis mumbled as Chrona nodded in agreement. Another awkward silence fell upon the two groups. The pinkette fidgeted uncomfortably as the gazes of the others were placed back on her. The girl on the opposite end of the compartment shifted in her spot, and Kidd let out a low growl at the movement. Even drugged to the point where he couldn't move, he somehow managed to sink his claws into the metal floor.

"Oh shut up, wuss." The biker snapped. Another snarl followed his words.

"Ah...ummm..." Chrona started, the crazy urge to apologize automatically kicking in, but the girl, Zoey, if she could recall correctly, interrupted her beforehand.

"Look, if you're going to say anything about...whatever the hell's going on between you and that Hunter, don't."

"Well, thank you!" Her weapon spat. "It's none of your business anyways, punks!"

"You're just as bad as Francis." The elder muttered, prompting a 'hey!' from said biker.

"Let me see him." Another wave of weakening relief shook Chrona when she heard Stein's voice outside the truck, as well as the sound of footsteps in the gravel.

"Chrona!" Sid shouted. "We're opening the door!"

The pinkette tightened her grip on Kidd, who glanced up at her in curiousity as the double doors to the back of the truck swung open.

"Easy..." Chrona murmured soothingly when the Hunter tensed up, letting out a low, feral snarl at the sight of Franken Stein approaching the back of the truck. The scientist gave Kidd a searching but worried look, before turning to Sid and Nygus.

"He's drugged, right?"

"Yes, Stein."

"Well, why is he still awake?"

"He can't move due to the drugs, but that doesn't mean he can't stay awake."

"I could always knock him out for you!" Francis offered from the other end of the compartment.

"No, thank you." Stein said simply, taking a long drag from his cigarette, and addressed the rest of the group. "You four come with me. I'll fill you in on what the situation back East is looking like and show you your living arrangements."

"Finally." Louis muttered as the Survivors stood up and filed out of the truck, all four still holding on to their guns. "Someone who won't keep us in the dark."

Kidd gave them all a frustrated glare as they passed him, got out of the back and followed Stein to his lab. "Sid, you get Kidd to the room we prepared!"

"Will do!" Nygus called back. "Chrona, dear, you might want to step back."

She reluctantly let go of Kidd, sliding away to the other end of the compartment and leaving the Hunter sprawled helplessly on the floor. He still couldn't move, and sent a dark look to the undead teacher, who pulled out a small gun.

"Sorry about this, Kiddo." Sid apologized, once more, as he fired at Kidd. The tranquilizer hit his shoulder and immediately took effect. Chrona heard him let out a low whine as he passed out.

Sid picked him up, slung him over his shoulder, and beckoned Chrona to follow him. "It's best if you stick with him for a while, since he's clearly less prone to attacking people when you're with him."

"OK." Chrona looked at the unconscious Hunter as she followed the blue zombie.

It still disturbed her greatly to see claws on the tips of his fingers, the attire he wore, the sharpened teeth, the unnatural noise that came from his mouth...but none more than his eyes.

Sure, she was happy to see that his eyes still held their shape, not dissolved in the skull like the other's of his kind. But they no longer shown with the love, the kindness, the dedication he once directed to only her; the friendship and compassion to his friends. They weren't dead, emotionless eyes, or hurt, pain-filled eyes.

No...they were the eyes of a stupid, inhuman animal.

XXXXXX

**1 hour later...**

"Not telling us that Kidd's back? I 'outta give that bastard what's coming to him!" Maka muttered under her breath as she stormed down the pathway to Stein's lab. Soul, Black*Star, and Tsubaki were right behind her. Maka had overheard Spirit talking to Shinigami-sama on a mirror, and he mentioned something about Kidd being back. Not needing to hear anything else, Maka called the group. She sincerely hoped Liz and Patti were with him.

"Maka-chan," Tsubaki said gently as they approached the front door. "Maybe Kiddo-kun's really hurt, I mean, he's been out there for at least a month. Maybe we can't see him because of that."

"Well, the great me finds that notion ridiculous!" Black*Star stated, ramming his fist on the front door. "I don't care what they say, I'm going to go visit my friend."

They waited a few minutes, but no one answered. Soul shrugged when Maka growled in frustration.

"Huh, maybe no one's ho-HEY!" The blue-haired ninja clearly had enough with waiting, because he simply kicked the door down.

"Let's go!" He told them, strutting inside. His weapon called out to him worriedly as they followed him.

"Black*Star, this isn't a good idea. Stein-hakase, well, he doesn't like intrusions."

"...so while the Infection's spreading farther down South, the blockade at the Mississipi river keeps it from spreading any further West. There was a commotion earlier, though. A plane filled with Infected passengers crashed a few miles outside of Death City. The zombies in question tried to get in the city, but we eliminated them before things got out of hand."

"Then there's a possibility that the virus might be spreading to other countries?"

The four snuck past the room where Stein was talking with some other people. Maka recalled her father mentioning that Sid was bringing in a few other Survivors. Usually, after doing so, Stein filled them in on what's really going in the world, and then sent them off to fill one of the empty houses in Death City. Most of the civilians were being evacuated to other countries, making Death City not much more than an encampment for Survivors.

After the Infection broke out, Kishin Eggs had all but disappeared, and therefore, the Meister and weapons tasks had been shifted to getting Survivors out of the hell that was the eastern side of the U.S.A. At least to the only ones who were immune.

"I think this is the right way." Black*Star whispered as they walked down the hallway. Most of the rooms in Stein's lab were opened, but one was closed, and locked from the inside.

"This should be it." Soul whispered. Black*Star grinned, clearly getting ready for his 'big entry', picked the lock easily and banged open the door.

"OI, KIDDO!" Black*Star called out, proudly puffing his chest out. "THE GREAT ME DEMANDS AN AUDIENCE WITH YOU-"

Maka was about to scold him when a blue-and-brown streak came flying from the room, letting out a ear-piercing screech, colliding with Black*Star and knocking him flat on the ground.

"WHAT IN THE-"

Maka backed away swiftly, dragging Soul and Tsubaki with her as Black*Star started yelling, struggling to get the zombie off him. Of their group, only the loudmouthed ninja was immune to the Infection, fortunately.

"Maka, we need to get that Hunter off him!" Soul frantically told her as Black*Star tried to not be torn apart by the Infected. He was bleeding already from three long claw marks on his arm.

Trust Stein to keep a few 'specimens' in his lab.

"R-right!" Maka tried to make sense of the situation, holding out her hand to Soul. But before the Death Scythe could transform, a gunshot rang out. Maka screamed softly as she heard he bullet wizz right past her, grazing the shoulder of the Hunter. It yelped in pain as someone rushed past Maka, kicking the blood-crazed Infected off the Meister. Immediately, two men had pinned it to the wall, the elder pointing a pistol at its hooded skull.

"Maka," She tensed as a calm voice, in spite of the situation, spoke up quietly behind her. "What are you doing here?"

"O-oh, hello Stein-hakase!" Tsubaki said hurriedly, bowing. "W-we're sorry, b-but, we just wanted to see Kiddo-kun!"

"You mean this punkass?" Maka turned around, only to freeze in dumbfounded shock as the two Survivors, one shoving the barrel of his shotgun down the Hunter's throat, held up the zombie a little higher. It's hood fell off, revealing it's face.

The expression on the face had changed in general, but Maka would never, not in a 100 years, be not able to recognize the three white stripes gracing the left side of his inky black hair.

How...why?

A silence fell upon the two Meister's and their weapons as they stared at Kidd...or rather, what used to be Kidd. His golden eyes glared savagely at the two men, one an elderly man with a white beard and hair, the other a gruffy, tattooed biker, as they held him against the wall. Maka could hear him snarl through the shotgun barrel. The biker simply scoffed.

"Not so tough now, are ya'?" The Hunter's response was only to sink those claws into the mans arm, who didn't even flinch. "Make a move and I'm blowin' your skull apart from the inside."

"Francis, leave the thing alone." A female voice said. Maka and Soul turned, as Tsubaki helped a stupidly gaping Black*Star off the floor, to see two other people standing there. One was a woman with dark brown hair, in a pink jacket, the other had dark skin and wore a dishelved business outfit. Both held guns. "After all we've been through, I'd think you'd want nothing more to do with zombies."

"I still owe this bastard a bit of payback for attacking me back in Pennsylvania."

"That's enough." Stein ordered, turning to Black*Star, who's gaze was alternating between the Survivors and Kidd. "Who told you Kidd was back?"

"I heard Papa talking about it." Maka piped up quietly. "And, well, we wanted to see him."

She didn't want to think about this at all. Maka just wanted to retreat back to her apartment and forget this ever happened.

And she most certainly didn't want to think about Liz and Patti's possible fate.

"You're lucky you're immune, Black*Star. I'll explain everything, now come on." Stein said simply, turning on his heels and beckoning the other four to follow him. "Chrona, keep an eye on him until we come up with a better solution."

At this, Maka turned to the door Kidd had come flying from to see her shy friend staring at Kidd with sad, upset eyes from inside the room. Bill and Francis dragged Kidd to the door and tossed him in, and with that, Chrona shut the door. The scythe Meister could hear it lock as a frustrated growl erupted from inside.

Soul didn't nothing but stare at the floor, even when Maka wound her arm around her boyfriend's waist as they followed Stein and the other Survivors. Black*Star limped, leaning onto Tsubaki heavily. Kidd had done a number on him. For once, Maka could see him looking downcast.

"So, this is the way to your living quarters." Stein handed a map to the four others as the Shibusen students sat down on one of Stein's stitched couches. "You'll be living there until we can evacuate you to another area."

"Ah, Jeezus, I gotta put up with you guys a little longer." Francis groaned, letting out a grunt when Bill hit him with the butt of his gun again. Louis simply rolled his eyes with a smile while Zoey sent a sympathetic glance to the Meisters and weapons, and they left.

"I don't want you keeping anything from me." Black*Star muttered dangerously, glaring at Stein. "What. Happened. To Kidd?"

Stein gave the ninja an odd look. "I think that'd be pretty obvious by now." He said simply. "He's a zombie, of course."

"But...Shinigami..." Tsubaki said warily. Maka had never seen her friend so distraught. "They...they're not supposed to get sick..."

"Apparently, Kidd could." Stein mumbled. He looked stressed. "We sent him, not a month ago, to eliminate the residents of the town where the Infection first broke out. Kidd succeeded, but...apparently, he'd been bitten, and changed into a Hunter. I...I can only guess what happened to Liz and Patti after that."

Hot tears poured down Maka's cheeks. She leaned into Soul as sobs began to escape her. Black*Star gazed at the floor, and Tsubaki had long since started crying.

"We may be able to change Kidd back," Stein sighed after giving the four a few minutes to get ahold of themselves. "However, we...don't know what the knowledge of...what happened, may do to him once he's able to fully comprehend things like this."

"Then what are we going to do?" Black*Star snapped, most unlike him. "We can't let him stay like this forever!"

"I know Black*Star." Stein told him, standing up and waving his hand to dismiss them. "Anything's better than staying a dumb animal for the rest of your life."

XXXXXX

For once, the silence was comfortable for Chrona as she observed Kidd from her position on the bed. He sat in the corner, curled up and watching the door, clearly prepared to attack the next person who came in. His behavior reminded Chrona of something like a cat. The room the Shinigami was staying in used to be a spare bedroom in Stein's lab. Shinigami-sama, who had yet to see his son, would simply not have them keeping Kidd in a cage. His theory was that if they could surround Kidd with a familiar environment, maybe it would trigger something.

Chrona sincerely hoped so, for those eyes of Kidd's were beginning to unnerve her greatly.

Kidd, despite his still human appearance, was still nothing more than a stupid animal, somewhat intelligent, only following his instincts and impulses. And while that had clearly saved Chrona's life, she still didn't like what Kidd had become.

He was no longer the strong, smart, orderly and loving Shinigami. No matter how many times Chrona looked at him and imagined him as the person he once was, the truth always hung in the back of her mind.

In the end, he was just a mindless zombie.

She sighed, laying back on the bed and curling up away from the crouching Hunter. It hurt, but she would try to get through this; help Kidd remember who he really was. She wanted him to come back; to her, to his friends, his father, so they could have the future Kidd wanted to have with her.

Still, one thing hadn't changed about Kidd was his ability to love her, physically, though. It was a primal instinct that he still held, and usually used whenever the two had spare time and protection on them (She thanked her lucky stars to still be on The Pill, even after her boyfriend disappeared). She didn't know how to deal with it at first, but Kidd had proved himself many, many times over to be an exceptional lover.

Especially last night...

Chrona shivered as she recalled the events that led to their first time, starting out as a simple study date. One minute, they were going over the properties of Kishin Egg souls, the next, they were rolling around on his bed upstairs. She could still remember every detail; sinking together into the soft sheets, bodies meshing to one another's, her hips raising to meet his in a primitive dance, his deft hands skimming gracefully across her body, their shouts as he-

The pinkette gasped quietly when the bed's center of gravity suddenly shifted, a pair of parkour'd arms wrapping around her waist. Her back was pulled into a chest, and a soft tongue curled around the shell of her ear. She shivered violently at the sensation of a clawed hand suddenly groping her backside.

Could he...smell her arousal?

A little shocked, she turned in the grip of the arms to meet a pair of half-lidded, lust-filled golden eyes, boring deeply into hers behind those messy black-and-white bangs. Kidd growled softly, his lips attacking her neck a second later. Chrona moaned as his sharp but gentle teeth left some marks to match the ones from the previous night in the safe house.

This hadn't changed about Kidd at all, so she might as well enjoy it while she could.

Letting out a soft groan as his claws tangled into her pink locks, Chrona lifted his head up, looking him in the eyes. He definitely couldn't understand her, but voicing her worries, her fears, and the promise she would make made her feel better.

"Kidd-kun," She whispered. "I love you, and I...k-know you're in there somewhere, and...I'll find you." Tears pooled in her eyes. "I'll find you!"

Kidd didn't respond, other than shifting his head to lick away her tears. She pressed herself to him in a fit of need. With a groan, her lover rolled over, straddling her hips while his mouth attached to hers and kissed her relentlessly. Their hands clawed eagerly at each other's clothes. His taste, soft, divine roses and otherworldly stardust, was now tainted with a tinge of blood.

She'd find Kidd. Somehow, in someway, she'd find him, bring him home to his father, to his friends, and to her.

It was going to be a long journey, but she would deal with it.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ So, here's part one, I will be continuing this in due time, and I hope that everyone will tolerate my weirdness. Derp. =P


	7. Ever After

_**Author's Notes:**_ SO, WHO WANTS TO READ A RANDOM AU ONESHOT? I DOOOOOO! Well, I have no clue whether this song is by Enya or not, since I just found it under her name in my iTunes library while digging deep into the bowls of my old computer. So I listened to it, and before I knew it, I had written this. I'm pretty sure it's a song used for belly dancing, and that's what came to mind. At this point, I'm starting to wonder if this little collection of mine should be changed to M, not for lemon, but the content in general. So, it's a good song, I just can't understand the lyrics. ^^"

_**Disclaimer**__**:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky with Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

Ever After

**Death Palace, 1:30 P.M...**

"Prince Kidd, Prince Kidd!" With an exaggerated sigh, the heir to the throne turned to send an annoyed look to the servant, who hastily bowed. "Your father wishes to see you."

"Really? It'd better not be about finding me a bride again." He muttered walking past him to the hallway. His cavernous room was nice, neat, and symmetrical once more, but if only he wouldn't be interrupted when arranging it!

As he walked down the grand hallways of the Arabian palace, a pair of fast, loud footprints came from behind him before his was tackled. The prince managed to keep his balance as the girl behind him seemed to demand a piggy-back ride.

"~EHEHEHEHE! Hello, little brother!~"

"Patti, leave him be." Another voice told her.

Kidd turned to see the second of his three sisters approaching him, and offered them a smile of greeting. "Hello. And Patti, would you get off of me?"

As Liz pried the girl off of him, his third sister approached from their shared room. She was dressed in wedding apparel, no doubt trying on the clothes that she would wear when she married her betrothed.

"You look lovely, Maka." Kidd told her. The girl simply rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." She giggled. "So, finally emerged from your room, have you, O mighty heir to our father's throne?"

"I told you before; I needed to rearrange my room." Kidd stated matter-of-factly. "One of my pillows was off and I needed to correct it."

"I cannot wait to see you find a girl who'll put up with your stupid obsession." Liz muttered.

"For the life of me, I cannot stand the brides that my father picks out." The prince groaned. "They're nothing but stuck-up, spoiled, whiny woman."

"You mean like yourself?" Liz groaned. "You and your symmetry fetishes are just going to get you in trouble one day."

"~And those white stripes.~"

"Patti, no!" Maka protested, but it was too late.

"YOU'RE RIGHT! I'M SO DISGUSTING! WHY DO I HAVE TO HAVE THESE VILE STRIPES?"

"No, no Kidd." Liz told him, walking over to the spot where her half-brother was hunched over in agony. "You're not filth. Patti didn't mean it, right Patti?"

"~Uh-huh!~"

Kidd sniffled, looking up at his sisters with hope in his eyes. "R-really?"

"Nope!"

"Alright." Kidd stood up, dusting his clothes off. "Oh, and Maka, who are you marrying again?" The girl in question shrugged.

"His name's Soul. He's a dim-witted, lazy idiot, but," She sighed softly, smiling. "Underneath all that, he's a really sweet prince."

"Don't say such things about him in front of Father, though." Kidd warned her. "He'll have you punished."

Maka nodded in agreement, sighing. "Oh well."

"~Good luck finding a girl Kidd!~" Patti laughed as he waved goodbye to his sisters and continued to his father's throne room.

Kidd's father was one of the most unusual men to inherit the throne to the vast kingdom. He was goofy, somewhat odd, and generous. He stuck with one woman, producing Liz and Patti, before she died. Then he married another and then came along Kidd and Maka. Most of the time, royal princes and princesses had only one mother and the same father.

"~Hello, my son!~" His father greeted him buoyantly, sitting on a pillow and waving the rest of his servants off. The prince never understood why his father wore that cloak and goofy mask, but it seemed to fit his personality. "~How are you today? Your stripes are as cute as ever!~"

"Father, please." Kidd muttered, his eye twitching. "I take it you called me down here just so I could meet more available women."

His father sighed, standing up and placing a hand on Kidd's shoulder. "~Son, you know you need to choose a bride for the future. You will be inheriting my throne soon, after all.~"

"I know, but I can't stand any of the women who come to call." Kidd groaned as they began to walk down the halls together. "All they care about is the riches of our family. At least Maka, Liz, and Patti have found men who love them. Hell, they'd probably murder me the moment we get married just to inherit the kingdom."

"Yes, yes." His father agreed. "But we'll just keep looking. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone today."

"Perhaps." Kidd nodded half-heartedly.

They were passing the harem of the palace (usually reserved for the guards whenever they were on break) when Kidd heard music playing. He glanced inside.

Most of the woman were standing to the side, watching the newest additions to the harem dance as a way to test whether they were worthy or not. Kidd enjoyed the music, though that didn't mean he liked the woman that danced to it.

But...who was that in the center?

"~Oh my,~" The king laughed as Kidd approached the entrance. "~How has such a simple dancer caught the eye of my son?~"

Kidd didn't respond, instead settling for watching the girl in the middle of the other swaying women.

He couldn't see her face, due to the veil she wore, but...oh man, the way she moved her hips and arms to the beat of the music was...hypnotizing. His face involuntarily heated up. She was clad in purple dance clothes, which fluttered with each swing of her torso.

"~Oh ho!~" His father chuckled upon seeing the look on Kidd's face. When the song ended and his senses came back to him, the prince turned to the nearest guard, who was watching the girls with hungry eyes.

"Guard," He said, who straightened up and bowed in respect. "Who's that girl in the middle?"

"Who? Her?" The bulky man pointed to the girl, who's eyes (A pretty powder blue, like the water of an oasis) were flickering back and forth upon the applauding audience nervously. "Not really sure. We found her on the streets last night. Eruka took her in."

"I see." Kidd nodded, thinking. Well, if she was going to be staying here, then why not get to know her? She was clearly a high-class dancer, worthy of performing for only royalty. "I decree that no one is to touch her yet." Kidd said firmly after the girls were shuffled out of the entrance room to the back.

"B-but, Your Highness," The guard said in shock, drawing the attention of the other people in the room. "She's nothing but a street urchin, probably even a brothel runaway!"

"~And a fine dancer who deserves praise for her skills.~" Kidd looked up, grateful, to his father as he spoke. "~Why not invite her to dinner, Kiddo?~"

"I think I shall do that."

XXXXXX

**2 hours later...**

"So, my picky little brother finally found a girl!" Liz laughed from the entrance to Kidd's vast, symmetrical room. Kidd sighed, finished straightening his pillows, and turned to his half-sister.

"Liz, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tease me."

"That attitude will get you nowhere." She scolded him, pinching his cheek playfully. "No wonder you're still a virgin."

"Liz!"

"But maybe that will change later on tonight!~" Liz giggled, winking and turning away from the flustered prince. Kidd rolled his eyes as the servants began to bring in the feast he was to share with the mystery girl.

After the food and drinks were set and Kidd shooed the servants away, he thought about Liz and his father's words. Yes, he was aware that his father wanted grandchildren, but...right now? Couldn't he wait until Kidd had inherited the throne to start producing heirs?

A shuffling noise caught his attention. He glanced up from fiddling with his wine glass, and smiled warmly in greeting.

He though he could pick out a tuft of oddly colored hair sticking out from under her veil as she quickly approached, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground, though if this was out of respect or just plain fright, he couldn't tell.

"Come. Sit." He offered kindly when she abruptly stopped in front of the table. He sipped from his glass and looked at her. She had a nice, lean stomach, too, now that he thought about it. Her chest was fairly flat, but that was made up for down in her lower regions. He raised an eyebrow quizically when she sat down hurriedly, across the table from him. She still didn't glance up. This made him wonder...maybe she was still a virgin, possibly running away from home. But why would a dancer as good as her not have ever caught someone's eye, other than his, of course.

"I noticed you dancing earlier, in the harem." He casually started. The girl simply nodded in response. "And I'd like to see you dance again, if that wouldn't be a problem."

She was silent for a second before answering in a quiet, nervous and slightly shaking voice. "N-no, not at all."

Her voice sounded pretty, Kidd noted to himself, definitely interested in her.

With a swift clap of his hands, a group of musicians entered the room, sitting down and preparing the play. The girl quickly stood up and moved to the spot between him and the music makers.

As the first few notes of the song started up, she poised elegantly. Slowly, she moved her body deftly to the rhythm, easy and graceful at first. But as the beat began to pick up, her hips swayed faster, keeping in time with the music and never missing a beat.

Kidd watched the way she danced, fascinated by they way her stomach and arm muscles contracted and tightened under that soft, pale skin. He found his eyes transfixed on her swooning hips, moving with the beat of the sensual music.

He didn't realize his mouth was agape, but smiling, until the music abruptly stopped, the girl freezing. Kidd immediately applauded, stood up, and walked over to her, waving a hand to dismiss the players.

The prince reached her the moment the group left, shutting the doors behind them. Gently, he lifted her chin up, since she had frozen in mid-dance.

"You're a lovely dancer." Kidd praised her, not missing the deep red hue that could be detected even under her veil. She straightened up, nodding shyly. "Now, would you like dinner?"

"Y-yes please." She stuttered as Kidd led her to the table. As he gestured for her to sit next to him, he realized something important.

"I...don't think I know your name." Well, this was fairly rude of him.

The dancer sat down as Kidd began to dig into his meal. "C-Chrona..." She murmured, looking away once more.

"Well then, Chrona." The prince reached over and started to fiddle with the veil protecting most of her face. "I don't think you'll be able to eat with that on your face."

"W-wait, I-" By the time she had gotten her protest out, Kidd had already pulled the concealing clothes off.

She was very pretty under that veil, he realized, even if her lavender hair was uneven and lopsided. Her wide blue eyes fit perfectly with the shape of her heart-shaped face, with thin pink lips.

"You're a very lovely girl, Chrona." Kidd laughed as he began to eat again. Chrona, clearly flustered, started to work on her meal as well.

"I-I haven't eaten this well ever." She admitted quietly once they had finished with the food. Kidd cocked an eyebrow, but smiled.

"How does such a wonderful dancer like you end up on the streets?" He asked. The pinkette blushed, but managed to respond.

"M-my mother taught me how to dance, ever since I was little." She murmured quietly. "Now that I l-look back on it, I think s-she was going to sell me t-to a brothel...I ran away before that c-could happen."

"Shame." Kidd sighed. "You're very welcome to stay here as a royal dancer. I won't let anyone touch you, ever." At this, her eyes lit up, and a small smile made it's way across her face.

"R-really?" She asked happily. Kidd gently ran his fingers through her soft lavender locks.

"Yes-OOMF!"

He was nearly knocked back when the girl embraced him happily, smiling from ear to ear. "T-thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it." He pulled her away slightly, looking into he soft, blue eyes. She smelled nice, now that he thought about it.

A soft, lovely shade of red once again crossed her facial features. She blinked, drawing closer. "P-prince?" She whispered.

"Please," He murmured, "Call me Kidd."

XXXXXX

"~Anything?~"

"I don't hear anything." Liz replied to her sisters, her ear glued to the door. Patti bounced up and down, along with Kidd's father.

"~He'd better get cracking!~" He chuckled as Maka rolled her eyes.

"Isn't this spying?" She asked, only to be shushed by the eldest of the sister.

"Shh!" Liz tuned into the noises in the room. She heard soft ruffling, a low thud, and then quiet giggling. Almost immediately, a low growl and moan followed.

"YES!" Liz punched the air in triumph, grinning widely. Maka shook her head, but smiled as Patti and the king went away, discussing wedding ideas.

"Isn't it enough that we're getting married to princes?" Maka asked Liz, who turned from the door to leave her brother and his possible future wife alone. "I mean, I'll probably be having a child within this year, and he's gotta marry a princess, after all."

"~Ah, who cares?~" Their father interrupted. "~Either way, I'm going to be having a grandchild soon.~"

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_Yes, I know a lot of you wanted me to add the next installment of Long, Long Journey, but I'd prefer it later since I already have several other oneshots that have been written and were begging to be put up. So, yeah, hate me if you want, I guess.

...

NOW WATCH AS THIS AU MAGICALLY GETS OUT OF CONTROL! Seriously, if a story revolving around this pops up somewhere in either the SE archives or crossover archives, know now who the culprit will be.


	8. The Celts

_**Author's Notes: **_THE IRISH LANGUAGE IS SO PRETTY!~ I could listen to it for hours and never get tired of the beat and sounds. *Sighs dreamily* Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

_XXXXXX_

_Saal na saol_

_Tús gá deireadh_

_Tá muid beo_

_Dá deo._

_Saal na saol_

_Tús gá deireadh_

_Tá muid beo_

_Dá deo._

XXXXXX

The Celts

**Irish Coast, 7:30 P.M...**

The wind swirled around the pinkette as her pale blue eyes focused on the bright colors of dusk, bringing the scent of the salty sea to her nose. The laughing sun bled out it's colors into the water, staining it for a little while before the moon would rise high into the sky. Chrona loved the smell of the ocean. It was calming to her, cleared her mind and made her relax. As was the wind, which buffeted her long, lavender hair, making it swirl around her like wispy ribbons of silk.

With a soft sigh, she lay back onto the short but soft green grass, breathing in the scent of her significant other. The soft smell (sweet roses and otherworldly stardust) mixed with the briny seawater wind. Kidd turned over from where he had been staring at the night sky, fixing his golden eyes on her face.

"Are you OK with settling down out here?" He asked. Chrona nodded, smiling and laying a hand on her husbands shoulder. She glanced back briefly at the small cottage sitting atop a hill by a copse of trees, far from the cliff-face but close enough to the town in the valley nearby. It was just their luck that they landed such a pretty and simple home.

"I am." She said. "I've always loved this country. The hills, the sea, the forests, the stones, it's all so pretty."

"Somehow reminds me of _**"Lord of the Rings"**_, but then again, that was filmed in New Zealand." Kidd chuckled, drawing closer to the now-more confident woman. "When was the last time we saw that movie?"

"I can't remember. I think it was with Soul-kun and Liz-chan, when they last had their granddaughter over."

"Ah, yes." Kidd nodded, smiling at the memory. "And even his age, Black*Star still somehow managed to ruin that for us."

Chrona sighed at the mention of their old friends, and in her case, her first. She could still remember the first time Maka plucked a gray hair out of her head, whilst Chrona's still remained a glossy, shining lavander. Still, they all had lived their lives, and duties, to the fullest.

"We should go back to visit their graves at one point." Kidd told her as she laid her head on his chest.

"That'd be nice." Chrona sighed.

Silence fell between them, as the witch and the Shinigami watched the stars appeared, one by one, in the deep blue sky. The pinkette nuzzled her face into Kidd's shoulder, listening to his never-ending heartbeat. If it was to end, it would be when he threw his life away for her, as would hers.

"Hey, Kidd?" Chrona asked as his hands ran up and down her back, carefully tracing her spine through her purple sundress.

"Hmm?"

"Are we...never gonna' change?" She asked, lifting her head to look at him sincerly. His strong, adult features watched her curiously. His body, as had hers, had not changed a bit since they reached maturity at age twenty. That was over 200 years ago.

Kidd smiled back at her, his golden eyes glittering. Slowly, he leaned up and pressed his lips to the corner of Chrona's mouth. She shut her eyes in bliss at the feel, her hands clinging to his crisp white shit and tracing his muscles through the fabric.

"Physically, we may never change on the outside." He told her after pulling away. "But as we live together through whatever time has to throw at us, we may change inside with the experience."

"I don't like change." Chrona admitted, frowning slightly. "...it hurts."

"I know it does." Kidd sighed, running his fingers through her long, pink hair. "But change is apart of time. And not everything changes."

"I have you." Chrona agreed. A smile broke out on their faces together.

"And I have you." Kidd laughed. He tangled a hand into the strands and pulled Chrona down for a soft kiss. "One thing that'll never change, Chrona, is how much I love you."

XXXXXX

_Life_

_Beginning without an end_

_We are alive_

_Forever_

_Life_

_Beginning without an end_

_We are alive_

_Forever_

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ I, seriously, cannot get enough of this music.


	9. And Winter Came

_**Author's Notes:**_ Don't you just love walking through a snow-filled forest in the middle of winter?~ The setting is based off a real place not too far from where I live. The mountains are topped with snow year round, and it's one hell of a ride going down those mountains.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

And Winter Came

**Mountain Village, 8:30 P.M...**

"...and so, that is how the great ME flawlessly won the skiing race!" Black*Star bragged, sipping from his now somewhat cool hot chocolate. Maka, sitting right across him from the couch, rolled her eyes.

"Black*Star, you tripped over a log and tumbled all the way down the mountain." She muttered, shaking her head. "Then you somehow managed to crash into the gondola entrance."

"Yeah, but I _still_ beat you all to the bottom!"

"Black*Star, please..."

"Well, whatever. That was still hilarious."

Kidd sighed, drank from his cup of hot chocolate, and once again took in the wonderfully symmetrical features of the lodge his father was kind enough to rent them out. Having the need for a vacation, Spartoi was allowed a week off. Their destination: a world class skii resort high in the Colorado Rockies. On their first day here, instead of getting settled in to the new accomadations, they immediately grabbed their gear and hit the powdery slopes. Now, they sat in the living room to exchange stories and complain about soreness and the cold.

"~Onee-chan,~" Patti's eager voice interrupted his thoughts. "~Can we ride on the cable cars again tomorrow?~"

Her elder sister sighed. "That's all you've been doing ever since we got here. Don't you want to skii?"

"~But the town on the other side of the mountain is so pretty!~" She argued, pouting some.

"It's too late for that now, Patti." Kidd told her, sighing. "You can go to that town tomorrow instead of skiing, if you wish. It's called Telluride, right?"

As Soul nodded in confirmation, the bubbly girl cheered, nearly knocking over her cocoa. Tsubaki tried to restrain her Meister from doing something rash, and the Shinigami glanced over to the Spartoi member at the very end of the couch on Maka's side.

Chrona had remained silent throughout the whole exchange, eyes focused on the fire in the nearby mantel. As it was their first day here, she favored to simply watch everyone skii from the shelter of the lodge instead of join them. After they regained her from Medusa not a year ago, Chrona remembered how to deal with a lot of things.

Snow, however, was a different story.

For a while now, he had been wondering how to ask the pretty pinkette out, at the pressure of Black*Star and Soul. Maybe he could teach her how to skii tomorrow while casually bringing up the subject.

XXXXXX

**2 hours later...**

She could never sleep when she was so far away from the comfort of her cell-like room.

With a sigh, Chrona flipped over onto her back for what seemed the ten millionth time since she and the other's retired to bed. The pinkette wasn't used to such lovely furniture to sleep on; it made her uneasy, for some reason.

Sitting up, she stared out the window of her room. It overlooked the town nestled into the mountainside, glowing prettily in contrast to the white, star-lit snow surrounding it. Maybe snow wasn't so bad, but Chrona was surprised, at first, that it was so cold. Like the world had turned into one big icebox.

The snow was gorgeous. Flawless and sloping smoothly, like a huge sheet of paper just waiting to be drawn on. She could see the tracks, in the distance, where her friends had skiied down the mountain, the breaks where they did acrobatic tricks, the body imprints where the hyper-active ninja had crashed and tumbled.

A smile, one of the first since they had arrived her, tugged at her lips. Well, she couldn't sleep anyways, and whenever she couldn't, a walk always helped her. She wasn't sure why, but it did. Maybe because it was one of the few times she could get around with Ragnarok (currently asleep) popping up to bully her.

Steathly getting up as to not disturb the chain scythe occupying the other bed, Chrona slipped into a heavy jacket to cover her nightgown, and shuffled out into the hallway, trying to remember where her boots were.

She jumped slightly when a giggle reached her ears. Swishing around and worried that she had disturbed someone, Chrona peeked around the nearest corner. She promptly blushed.

"~Eeheeheehee!~" Patti snickered, pulling her ninja boyfriend by the drawstings of his pants down the hall. An equally greedy smile had crossed his face, and clearly, he couldn't wait much longer. With a growl, Black*Star scooped Patti up and kissed her fiercly as they tumbled into his room. The door shut, and the completely embarrassed pinkette heard the click of a lock. Almost immediately, a low moan followed.

Stiffly and feeling very much like a voyeur, Chrona silently hurried to the door, even more eager to get out of the house. She stepped into her boots and walked out into the still, cold night.

The snow seemed higher than she thought previously, but fortunately, not deep enough for it to spill into her boots when she stepped forward. The sky was clear, making way for thousands of stars to glitter in the mass of blackness above. A chill settled on what bare skin she had, making her shiver. But still, she was compelled to trudge on, see what the world was like when covered in snow.

It was amazing to Chrona's virgin eyes, never seeing the true beauty nature could behold. She loved white the most, out of all colors. The trees were covered in snow, their undersides still a pretty white, and glittering softly in the starlight; a million crystals.

Only the muffled sound of her boats leaving prints behind as she walked down a small path penetrated the silence. Chrona felt relaxed for the first time since arriving here; alone with her thoughts.

Yes, skiing looked fun, but the way Black*Star had crashed earlier was giving her second thoughts about the subject. Raggy had been pestering her to try it, for his own perverted reasons, which Chrona did not care to find out about. Still, she wasn't too sure about trying it.

With a sigh, and feeling as though she was in a stalemate, Chrona sat down on a snow covered rock near her, thinking it over. Well, at least it was pretty tonight. She shut her eyes, taking in the quiet air.

"Chrona!"

Or so she thought.

The pinkette jumped when she heard approaching footsteps, and swiveled around in shock. She was surprised at who it was.

"S-Shinigami-kun." She gasped. The dark-haired boy seemed to have dressed entirely, and looked a little breathless. He ran through to the snow to her side. "What's wrong?"

"What are you going out here in just a coat?" He panted. "It's freezing."

"D-did I d-do something wrong?" She asked worriedly, standing up. "I-I'm sorry, but I-"

"No, it's fine." He reassured her. "I was getting a glass of water when I noticed you leaving."

"O-oh...I was just...umm..." She trailed off, feeling embarrassed. Shyly, she looked away.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you." Kidd apologized, and Chrona started slightly when a warm piece of fabric was wrapped around her neck. "You could catch your death out here."

Chrona didn't respond, other than nod shyly. She liked the Shinigami a lot; he was nice to her. When she glanced back up at him, he seemed to have a deep red coloring the majority of his face. She fretted over whether or not he was sick, but he beat her to speaking.

"Listen, Chrona...ummm..." Kidd looked away, fidgeting slightly. He seemed to take in several deep breaths, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, as though he had trouble finding words on whatever he wanted to say. The pinkette simply tilted her head slightly to the side, curious.

His soft, golden eye shut halfway as he looked at her, an emotion Chrona had never seen before burning, like the fire in the mantel from earlier, in it's depths. He stepped closer, but she didn't feel compelled to run away.

"...K-Kidd-kun?" She asked as the distance between them was shortened to mere inches. Her face was heating up, but for what reason, she couldn't fathom. It was like she couldn't break her gaze away from his. A hand, slightly cooled from the night air, brushed lightly against her cheek. His soft face came even closer.

"Chrona, I...I really like you." The pinkette couldn't respond, a strange sensation attempting to crush her chest. As she tried to, however, her efforts were wasted when something warm and a little bit wet applied the slightest bit of pressure against her lips.

A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran up her back, but her body did nothing to push him away. She wasn't stupid; she knew what a kiss was, but...to recieve one from Kidd, of all people, it just made her mind draw a complete blank.

Knowing now that she had nothing to lose, her powdery blue eyes fluttered shut, grasping tightly onto the free hand of the boy before her with slightly shaking fingers. She hope she was doing OK, as she lightly moved her lips against his.

A moment later, he pulled away, his face red as a tomato and golden eyes attempting to interpret her reaction. She smiled slightly at him.

"I...I think I really like you, too, Shinigami-kun."

XXXXXX

**The next day...**

Soul sat up and stretched after awakening, hoping to not awaken the sleeping, half-naked Maka next to him, whose hands where still tightly wound around his waist. He listened to the quietly popping joints of his muscles before sliding quietly out of bed, disengaging himself from his girl's arms and lightly kissing her forehead. No harm in making some coffee before she woke up, right? 'Cause that's what cool guys do for their girl.

It wouldn't be long before the slowly rising sun woke everyone else up, and the demon scythe hoped to beat Black*Star to the donuts before the best of the batch were devoured.

He trudged down the hallway, making a beeline to the gourmet kitchen. Not to his surprise, he found the ninja there in only his boxers, standing with a robe-clad (completely naked underneath) Patti and chewing on a sprinkle, jelly-filled donut. Both seemed to be staring at something in the living room from the other kitchen entrance, and the demon pistol was doing her best to hold back knowing giggles.

"Hey man, you better not have eaten the rest of the glazed ones or-"

"~Shh!~" Patti shushed him venomlessly. "~You'll wake them up!~"

Soul turned to see what appeared to be a pile of blankets before the now-dead fire, which had continue to roar on long into the nigh beforet, a small dash of black-and-white and lavender hair lying underneath the mass. The fluffy pile moved up and down in the rhythm of two bodies breathing smoothly.

"Well I'll be damned." Soul chuckled, shaking his head. "Glad that scrawny little Shinigami finally got his ass moving."

"Amen to that." Black*Star nodded as well. "I was this close to just locking them in a closet."

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ My theory on the SE characters is that they have a habit of conspiring against each other when it comes to couples.~ XD


	10. Exile

_**Author's Notes**_: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Cold as the northern winds_

_in December mornings,_

_Cold is the cry that rings_

_from this far distant shore._

_Winter has come too late_

_too close beside me._

_How can I chase away_

_all these fears deep inside?_

XXXXXX

Exile

**Death the Kidd's mansion, 4:30 P.M…**

"_Of all the hair-brained, idiotic things she could have done, she just had to draw on my paintings! And she had to do it with asymmetrical colors, draw a hideous mustache on Honorable Father's face, and, most importantly-"_

_Chrona tuned out the angry yells as the Shinigami paced back and forth across the dining room, instead attempting to focus on her textbook. Sure, Shinigami-kun was being nice in offering to help her study, but…well, she wasn't getting much studying done due to his hour-long rant._

_Upon arriving at his mansion after school, Death the Kidd had received a surprise: The younger Thompson had doodled all over the symmetrical and neat paintings he had in the living room. And now, he was venting as the shy pinkette attempted to absorb the info contained in the thick book about the basics of being a Meister. Patti wasn't back yet, probably out playing with her sister._

_Ragnarok would sometimes scold her for still learning things from the school. His argument was that Medusa would be calling her back from this place anytime soon._

_Chrona hated being a spy._

_The guilt hurt…there were times when she couldn't even bear to look at Maka._

"_-and I'm going to make her clean up every single one when she gets home!" Kidd finally finished, throwing his arms up in the air and angrily plopping down into the chair next to Chrona. She didn't know how to deal with his 'symmetry rants' as Maka called it. So she stayed silent, that is, until Kidd peered over her shoulder._

"_You're on the wrong page." His breath drifted gently onto her neck, sending a flush creeping from her shoulder to her hairline. _

_For a while now, her body had been having strange reactions whenever Shinigami-kun was around. Her face would heat up, her heart would pound, and her stomach would do back-flips._

_She was considering asking Maka about these weird feelings. Maybe she knew what they were, since Chrona didn't know how to deal with them._

_Another shiver took hold of her body when Kidd reached over and flipped a few pages over to the right one. His fingers, so soft and long, brushed against hers gently as he pulled away._

"_Are you OK?" Kidd suddenly asked, which prompted a surprised squeal from the pinkette. "Your face looks a little gray."_

_Before Chrona could speak, he laid his hand on her forehead, obviously checking for a fever._

"_You're very warm." Shinigami-kun commented. "Do you feel sick?"_

_"N-no, no, n-not at all…" She stammered, willing her heart to quell it's attempts to escape from her chest._

"_Are you sure?" Kidd seemed to draw closer, uncomfortably close. His eyes, why hadn't she ever noticed the strange rings in them? Each one was shaded a different color of gold and, oh they just looked so…pretty._

"_Y-y-y-yes." Chrona squeaked. He got closer and Chrona could pick out each of the thin eyelashes that lined his soft eyes. His breath caressed her face, and the hand that had been on her forehead dropped down, cupping her cheek._

"_Chrona?" Kidd murmured, the carbon dioxide from his lungs pouring into her open mouth. It tasted sweet._

"_Huh?" Chrona responded the best she could. Her body seemed to have forgotten how to function, in addition to losing the ability to speak the human language. Kidd swallowed, and began to speak._

"_For a while now, I've…been feeling these things when I'm around you…" Has…he been feeling the same way she had been? "And…I, I think I-"_

_Shinigami-kun paused quite abruptly, and suddenly pulled away. It was then that Chrona realized that his face was just as flushed as hers._

"_The phone's ringing." His head jerked in the other direction, towards the kitchen. He got up and hurried away. "I'll be right back!"_

_That was weird, the phone wasn't ringing at all._

_In fact, the only other noise Chrona could hear was the sound of something hitting metal over and over and over again in a random and continuous pattern._

_Suddenly, the air began to chill. Chrona clenched her arms, rubbing them and attempting to warm them. She could see her breath, even, misting before her face as a strange fog seemed to fill the room. How was it that Nevada could get so cold?_

"_S-Shinigami-kun?" She called out, disturbed by the drop in temperature. The sound got louder. It pounded in her ears and in her head, driving away all rational thought._

_She was terrified as an inexplicable paranoia swept over her._

**BOOM!**

Chrona's eyes flew open, just barely being able to suppress a squeal of fear and shock. The earsplitting crash of thunder made all her senses, once diluted and dulled by sleep, race back to her in fear. The other noise, ringing in her ears and driving away all memories of the dream, continued on as the painfully frightening explosion faded into weak rumbles that reverberated in her chest.

Sweat was pouring down her face, and her body shook violently. Her mind scrambled to make sense of the environment and her situation. It was all darkness around her, pressing on her open eyes, suffocating her breath and terrifying her stupid.

She could never remember these strange nightmares. One minute, she would be somewhere else, far away in a dream world that seemed so real and fake, the next, her consciousness would race to grasp the visions as it retreated into a place where her mind could not go except in dreams.

It scared her, and it made her so very sad. Chrona would sometimes awaken in the middle of the night and feel like crying. But for what, and who, she couldn't recall.

Maybe it would be easier to think if it **wasn't so cold**!

The air had to be at sub-zero temperatures if her body was shivering this much. In an attempt to keep warm, the pinkette curled up, reverting back to her need for heat in exchange for dropping the subject of her confusion over the forgotten dreams all together. She suppressed her urge to lament for her lost memories, instead focusing on her body's demands, which weren't being sated now matter how much she rubbed her arms, trying to create friction.

Either her body wasn't radiating it's natural heat at all, or the blanket was failing to keep it trapped. Could be both.

She probably would be able see her own breath had there been enough light. Already, her toes had lost feeling, and the numbness began to creep upwards, clearly hell-bent on consuming her whole body and turning her into an ice sculpture. There might even be tiny icicles on her eyelashes!

She didn't know how to deal with this at all; the lingering confusion over her subconscious refusing to give her light on the dream she wanted to cry about, the chill that seemed to settle on every inch of her skin, the random and thought-scattering sound that made thinking impossible. What was she supposed to-

The sleeping bag flap over her lifted abruptly as Chrona gasped silently. Another body, one that radiated the heat that she craved, climbed in with her.

Arms wrapped around her, one on her shoulders and one on her waist, and pulled her back into a well-built chest, instantly driving away the numbing cold that seemed to have a vice-grip on her body before. She instinctively curved her torso to fit into the crevices of the other. In a fit of need, Chrona eagerly pressed her bare, numb feet against the others. They felt so warm.

A hiss escaped him, prompting the shy pinkette to pull her frozen toes away.

"Shit, you're freezin'."

"Sorry." She mumbled. Chrona's face was then tinted with a soft but deep hue of gray, courtesy of the warmth that was gradually returning to her, thawing out her icy body.

If there was one thing she could remember vaguely about her dreams, it was the boy with those strange white stripes. Just the thought of him would always make her chest flutter, and her face heat up.

So…why did the same things happen around this person? And they just only started recently.

"Something going on over there that I should be knowing about?" Another male voice cut through her now coherent thoughts.

"Naw, Chrona jus' got cold." Her space heater replied, and she felt him shift to glace over his shoulder, towards the owner of the voice by the door.

"Well, that's hardly a surprise." The other sighed. "It's fucking hailing out there. We may have to wait for this storm to pass before we head back to the boat, I heard they get worse the farther South you go."

**BOOM!**

This time she screeched softly in fear as another strike of thunder shook the tin roof above them. The body next to her, filling the sleeping bag with heat, gently rolled her over. Her face was pressed against the sloping dip of a strong chest.

"Now, now, it's jus' noise. Can't hurt 'ya none."

She listened to the steady heartbeat reverberating against her ear, drowning out the pounding hail. The easy lullaby quieted her fears, and her mind began to get drowsy. His cheek rested against her messy hair, breath stirring the unnaturally colored locks. A sense of security swept over her.

He wasn't the strange boy she missed. His hands didn't have the odd, cold rings or the white stripes in stark contrast to his black hair. He wasn't powerful and proper and symmetry obsessed.

But still…he was always there to protect her, like she; as they had saved each others lives a thousand times over.

Her mind sank into a deep sea of sleep, letting out one last mumble before falling into silence; it would be that way until the next morning, one filled with uncertainty, fear, and determination to survive.

"Thanks Ellis…"

XXXXXX

_**Author's notes:**_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHY CAN'T I BE NORMAL? *Runs away crying*


	11. Watermark

_**Author's Notes:**_ I'm wondering when I'll run out of songs for this, cause I keep finding more to work with. It's kinda weird...

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

Watermark

**Paris, 3:30 A.M...**

Kidd wasn't sure what had woken him up so suddenly; maybe the strange absence of heat that had filled the sheets the night before, or the lack of a slender, slightly sweaty body next to him, balancing out the bed's center of gravity. Groggily, he opened his gold eyes to the ceiling of the Master Suite in the choice hotel they had stayed in for the night, feeling deliciously lazy and relaxed. He sat up, eyes searching the darkened room filled with warm shadows.

He spotted a shadowed, half-visible silhouette by the window, looking out on the glittering city of love, her eyes fixed on the protruding tower that stuck out among all of them. She had a sheet draped teasingly around her body, and was biting her lip, like she was lost in thought.

Well, it was a husband's duty to accompany her when she was like that.

He slid deftly out of bed, thankful that it was still warm in the room due to the heater (not to mention the husky scent of what had taken place the previous night), so the Shinigami welcomed the air that brushed along his bare skin.

She didn't turn to look at him as he approached behind her, but acknowledged his presence when he wove his arms around her bare waist. She interlocked her hand with his, allowing Kidd to toy a little with the pretty band around her middle finger, with a delicate rose of gold atop it and crowned with a diamond center. His nose buried into her soft, long lavender hair as she leaned into his embrace.

"Thinking about something, sweetheart?" He asked. She nodded, her body stiffening a bit against his.

"Hmmm...yes." She sighed. "Before we left on this mission, I...took a look at Maka..."

"And what of it?" He asked calmly, though he knew very well where she was getting at.

"It's like...I truly saw her yesterday. I can't...no matter how much I want to deny it...I just can't."

"I know it's hard." Kidd agreed, trailing his fingers through the feathery, fine rosy strands, still a little damp from their night together in the hotel.

Wrinkles of age were beginning to form on Liz's face, as well as Patti's. At their age, it was hardly surprising. But at the age the couple were at, it was to them.

Even the strongest of Meister's could not fight back against the ravages of time. Soul's snowy white hair was beginning to dull and gray, Black*Star couldn't get around as much as he could previously, and there was no denying the fact that Spirit had passed away just the previous year, at the ripe age of 80.

But still, this did not faze them one bit. They still went around fighting evil as they had in their youthful days, accepting of the fact that they, and not the Shinigami and witch, were aging.

"It is hard..." Chrona began to tremble, prompting Kidd to pull himself out of his thoughts. "I-It's so hard to think...that they'll be gone soon."

"There, there, darling." Kidd let her bury her face into his chest. "But...nonetheless, I'm glad to have met them, made friends with them, they're probably happy too, as well."

"You really think so?" The pinkette asked shakily. Kidd nodded, running his fingers up and down the smooth muscles around her spine as the sheet fell to their ankles, forming a small pool of white and linen waves around them. The pinkette shuddered, but whether it was from crying or the feel of their bare skin pressing together, he didn't know.

"You won't...leave me too, will you Kidd?" She suddenly asked, turning her shimmering, luminescent blue eyes to him, curious and slightly scared. Kidd gently lifted her hand to his lips, peppering it with little kisses before arriving at the engagement ring.

"When I gave this to you, I never had any intention of leaving." He promised, pressing his mouth to her cool palm. "I've left my mark on you, and it won't fade anytime soon, I gurantee you that, Chrona."

She smiled a watery grin, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him. He responded eagerly, their mouths hot and open, searching for each tongues before engaging in a neverending battle for dominance. Kidd normally won, back when they were younger, but as Chrona matured, both her body and her soul, she began to fight back. Not that Kidd was complaining.

Kidd always loved the way Chrona tasted; it was sweet, soothing lavender with a trace of cotten sheets, like the one now at their feet. He ran his fingers through her shiny, glossy pink locks as they collapsed to the floor with a soft peel of laughter. Tickles turned into caressing hands, devilish and wanting as they stayed awake long into the night, rolling around together on the floor.

A breathtaking, magnificent down broke over the horizon of the city of lights when the two lovers at last fell asleep, entwined together, on the floor as the sun began to rise, signaling a new day in their immortal lives.

No matter what the future brought, they'd stay together.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_I wonder if you guys are getting tired of me teasing you like this...XD


	12. Long, Long Journey: Part 2

_**Author's Notes: **_Aaaaaaand Part 2! Here we go! I'm in a lighthearted mood, so I might as well add some comedy. Shorter than the others, but still worthwhile to write.~

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Soul Eater or Left 4 Dead. Both series rightfully belong to Atsushi Okubo-sensei and VALVe. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars".**_ Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Where the road_

_runs through the valley,_

_where the river flows,_

_I will follow every highway_

_to the place I know. _

_Long, long journey_

_through the darkness,_

_long, long way to go;_

_but what are miles_

_across the ocean_

_to the heart that's coming home?_

XXXXXX

Long, Long Journey: Part 2

**Death the Kidd's mansion, 12:30 P.M...**

"BLACK*STAR, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Said ninja looked up at the sound of someone yelling his name, and cracked a cocky grin. Maka was steaming from the door to the vast backyard, sending daggers with her eyes to the two culprits, sitting on the porch.

"Oh, don't get your pigtails ruffled." The equally rambuncious biker groaned from his position next to the loudmouthed ninja, pulling another slab of meat from the huge plate between them. "It's lunchtime, isn't it?"

"When I told you to 'feed Kidd', THIS ISN'T WHAT I HAD IN MIND!" The Scythe Meister ranted. Soul, standing next to the enraged girl, rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Chill out, Tiny Ti-"

"MAKA-CHOP!"

"I think he's in those bushes." Francis muttered to the ninja and ignoring the low THUD of Soul's body collapsing to the ground in an unconscious heap. Said Meister picked up the sound of slight rustling in the rose garden about twenty yards away.

"Yeah, I hear him." Black*Star could barely hold back his mirthy laughter as his fellow 'indestructable' pal heaved the meaty chunk high into the air, spraying little bits of juice into the air.

A blur of blue and brown flew from the bushes, aimed directly at the flying piece of raw beef, a shriek reverberating from it's throat. It intercepted the chunk, and landed deftly, tearing at the meat with a hearty growl and held it between it's claws, as though it was prey that might try to escape.

"Stop doing this to him!" Maka yelled at the two as they watched the zombie devour the bloody mound, laughing their heads off. "It's insanitary!"

"It's hilarious!" Francis chuckled as he recovered, watching the Hunter retreat back into the woods. "I swear, it's like playing fetch with a dog!"

"Need I remind you that we're trying not to encourage those instincts?" Maka groaned at them. "We're trying to get Kidd back to normal!"

"Oh come on, Maka!" Black*Star protested. "He likes being fed this way!"

"This may be the only way we get him to eat." Soul added as he heaved himself from the ground, recovering from the book that collided with his skull. "Remember the 'dinner fiasco' last week?"

"Don't remind me." Maka moaned in dejection, blushing with embarrassment.

"Case in point." The biker reminded them, picking up another piece of raw meat and holding it out, preparing to toss it. "Come on, he's harmless now."

**CHOMP!**

The Survivor calmly looked to where he had been holding his arm out, to see a hooded, human-like creature biting into it, growling softly and digging his claws into the tattooed arm. Anyone could easily pick out the white stripes hiding underneath the bloodied fabric.

"I mean, yeah, he does that sometimes, but I think he's just playing."

"You should probably feed him." Black*Star suggested, taking the slab from Francis and tossing it away from the back door. The Hunter went chasing after it, leaping into the air and pouncing on it.

"I hate raw meat." The biker muttered as he stood up, brushing the blood from his hands on his vest, and turned to walk back inside. "Wonder if Bill managed to get a hold of that beer."

It had been a bit of a rocky start, their odd friendship with the Survivors who came back with Kidd and Chrona. But, overtime, they gradually accepted each other as fellow victims of the zombie apocalypse. Though the situation was getting far worse as the Infection slowly but steadily pushed West, life went on somewhat normally at Death City. The absence of Liz and Patti was hard on everyone, but they pushed on, trying in every way they could to restore Kidd to his old symmetry-loving self.

No success, thus far.

"You should probably get him back inside." Soul suggested as the last of the meat was fed to the Infected, who was now curled up contently at the base of a tree in his old backyard as he chewed on a bone, sucking the marrow out. "He shouldn't even be out here in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah." Black*Star groaned, standing up. "Chrona can do that. The great ME is due for a drinking contest!" And in a flash of blue and black, he was gone.

"Soul, watch him." Maka warned the albino scythe as she turned to walk back inside. After her weapon nodded, the Meister walked back into the living room, where she had last seen the pinkette.

She was curled up on the couch, reading a book Maka had lent her, and smiled slightly when she peered over the back to her.

"Ah, M-Maka-chan, hello."

"Sorry to bother you, Chrona, but could you go get Kidd and bring? He's in the backyard."

The pinkette set the book down, stretched and walked outside, dismissing Soul so he could go home with Maka. She spotted her lover underneath the tree, shaded from the hot Nevada heat. Often, she wondered how hot he could get in those thick clothes, but he didn't seem to complain. Not verbally or physically, at least. The Shinigami-turned-Infected tried to stay out of light in general, favoring to curl up somewhere dark and cool, like a closet or under his old bed, waiting until they fed him once more.

"Hello, Kidd-kun." She greeted softly when she reached the base of the tree. The Hunter glanced up in curiousity as she knelt down to look him in the eyes. "How was lunch?"

He didn't respond, though talking to him quietly did seem to calm him down some, no matter the situation. Chrona reached out, slipped her hand underneath the hoodie and trailed her fingers through his hair. He let out what sounded like a purr in response, shutting his eyes in content. A few weeks with him had made him a lot less likely to attack others, mostly because they kept him well fed.

Still, it disgusted her that they had to take care of him like they would a pet.

With a sigh, she sat down, bowing her head as she rubbed Kidd's shoulder. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but smile some when he plopped into her lap with a low grunt, curling up and looking at her expectantly. Gently, Chrona traced his spine, savoring the feel of his lean muscles under her slender fingers. The Hunter settled his head under his crossed arms, clearly settling down to return to his nap.

She used to do this alot, back before he was turned, so it felt no different from before. Whenever he was like this, she could close her eyes and pretend that he was back to normal, simply laying across her legs just because he wanted to enjoy her company.

"I really hope you can remember me soon, Kidd-kun." The girl sighed. "I really do."

XXXXXX

"You really think it's OK to just let him run around that mansion?" Soul asked. The Nevada sun beat down on him and Maka as they made their way down the empty streets of Death City. Most people had left the city in favor of flying to untouched countries, leaving it as an encampment for the immune Survivors. "I mean, he could get out any time, now."

Maka nodded in agreement, looking fairly downcast. "I know that, but...we can't keep him in a cage, it'll drive him crazy. Plus, he doesn't really attack anyone who comes to call."

His girlfriend fell silent, leaning gently onto his shoulder, sighing. "I heard...something from Stein, yesterday."

"What?" Soul asked, feeling worried.

"He's been running diagnostics on the Infection inside Kidd. And...you do know that...it's a terminal disease, right? Because...the Northeast is now zombie-free because t-they all..."

Soul immediately pulled her into a hug as her shoulder shook with sobs, stroking her wheat-gold hair and murmuring softly in reassurance. He was upset as well; the place where the Infection had first broken out was now completely void of all life, either killed by the people fighting them to survive or just dying from the Green Flu altogether.

"We will change Kidd back before it's too late." Soul told her firmly after she calmed down. "I'll make sure of that."

The green-eyed girl smiled weakly as Soul pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth. "Y-yeah...we'll do it."

The albino scythe pulled away but took Maka by the hand. "Now, we've got a mission to do, right?"

"Y-yes." Maka agreed, calming herself. "Sid's bringing in some new Survivors from New Orleans."

"Well, he'll need an escort." Soul transformed into a scythe, and Maka hopped deftly on the handle as wings sprouted from where the blade once was. As they took off into the sky, Maka still felt uneasy about the po of the virus spreading further.

It would never reach here, right?

XXXXXX

**TugiHagi Laboratory, 1:00 P.M...**

Soft eyes peered from behind the door to the stitched back hunching over what looked like a stethescope, at his desk and sitting in his chair backwards. With a small sigh, Marie walked into the dark room, knowing better than to flip on the light switch in case of harming any sensative materials in the room. The scientist sat up as she reached his side.

"Stein?" She asked. "I know you'll say no to this, but...would you care for something to eat?"

The doctor began to fiddle with the screw in his head, turning it repeatedly before it stopped with a click.

"As a matter of fact," He said, much to Marie's surprise. "Something to eat would be nice. You have a pie baking right now, don't you?"

"It's blueberry." She told him, smiling. "I've...been craving it recently."

The tonfa Death Scythe peered over Steins shoulder, looking at the small dishes of what seemed like blood samples. "Are those Kidd's?"

"This one's Kidd's." The scientist pointed at the one he'd been examining. It was more brightly colored red than the latter. "The other is from a sample from a typical Hunter."

"I see." Marie urged him, for once interested in his experiments as it involved curing the Infected Shinigami. "Go on."

"From what evidence we've gathered, Kidd managed to eliminate the town where the Infection first broke out. This whole crisis could've been averted had Kidd not been bitten. After he was turned and killed his weapons, he spread the Infection by attacking other humans in Philadelphea. Those who were immune were either killed and eaten or fought back. Even now, there are a few cases in other countries, and it's causing mass hysteria all over the world."

"Yes." Marie agreed sadly. "And what with the rate that the Infection's spreading here, there...may be no other place for us to go if it get's out of hand."

Stein nodded, before leaning his head down on the desk, looking stressed. "It's a miracle that Kidd still has his eyes, which leads me to believe that the disease doesn't have that strong a hold of him. The Infection works by slowly killing it's hosts body, while targeting and destroying the brains Cortex, which basically renders the human victim into a wild animal. But, like some wild animals, the intelligent ones can be tamed."

"Notice how Kidd's blood and the other Hunter's blood are different colors." Stein held out the two dishes. "Both were Infected around the same time, but this Hunter died about a week after being Infected. By the rate I've predicted, we have at least two months before the Infection kill's Kidd."

"Do you think you'll be able to find a cure before then?"

"I _will_ find a cure before then." The scientist said firmly, standing up. His normally neutral expression then dropped some. "I'll never forgive myself if I don't."

Marie embraced him, burying her face into his shoulder as he held her back. He was so tired, working nonstop to keep Kidd from facing the same fate as all the Infected eventually would. Shinigami-sama frequently checked in for news, usually keeping an eye on everything else. He couldn't see Kidd directly, otherwise Kidd might bite him.

"Marie?" Stein suddenly asked, leaning away some. "Do you...think you'll be alright if we have to leave somewhere isolated?" The Death Scythe nodded confidently.

"I do. But...will _she_ be safe?"

A stitched hand pressed gently onto the ever-growing swell on her abdomen, caressing it tenderly and loving; it was a side of Stein no one but Marie knew.

"She will be." He promised, to her and their future child. "I'll make sure of that."

XXXXXX

**"~88 bottles of beer on the wall, 88 bottles of beer! Kill the zombies, chug it down, 87 bottles of beer on the wall!~"**

"I'm giving them ten minutes."

"Five."

"Two."

"You-you should have more faith in a guy, Louis!" Francis drawled, pausing as he and Black*Star got to the next part. He sipped from the ice-cold bottle and shook it at the former retail clerk. "I-I can go for-for hours!"

"AMEN!" Black*Star cheered, taking another long swig and putting his feet up on the table. His weapon stood to the side with the other three Survivors in their temporary home, looking frantic as her Meister drank himself stupid, his face flushed and chuckling stupidly.

"Black*Star, you should stop! You'll make yourself sick again!"

"Oh relax..." He groaned, stiffling a burp and grinning stupidly. "I've withstood (hic) more drinks than this before!"

"That's my indestructable pal!" Francis heartily punched the drunk ninja in the arm, laughing. "We've faced the zombie apocalypse, and we can handle a few drinks!"

"THE GREAT ME WILL NEVER FALL!"

**"How do you put up with him?"**Zoey and Tsubaki simultaneouly asked each other. Before they could both respond, a low thud indicated that the game had ended. Both the biker and ninja Meister were unconscious on the floor. Bill checked his watch.

"Huh, you win Louis."

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? OF COURSE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR DRINKING CONTESTS! I had trouble writing that last bit, since I was laughing too much. XD And I incorperated some SteinxMarie into this because I felt like it~


	13. Storms in Africa II

_**Author's Notes:**_Aaaaaannd here's the oneshot with the second part of the song. Hope it's to liking!

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_How far to go_

_I cannot say._

_How many more_

_will journey this way?_

_Dark skies fall on_

_black earth and ivory._

_Far from your sun_

_clouds now close over me._

XXXXXX

Storms in Africa II

**Death City, 3:30 P.M...**

Tiny little splashes ensued Kidd's footsteps as he walked down the wet sidewalk. He hoped that he didn't get his pants wet, despite the fact that his Shinigami cloak shielded him from the rain. More puddles were gathering at his feet the harder it began to pour down.

Why had his father asked him now, of all times, when there was a thunderstorm on the move, to bring him something from the nearest McDonalds joint?

Rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time at his fathers strange antics, Kidd pressed on, ignoring the rain, since the drops couldn't make it past the fabric of his cloak. One of the many beauties about the strange material is that it was resistant to all forms of nature.

As he passed the basketball courts, a flash of pink caught his eye. Curious, he stopped, peering at one of the benches by the wall. His eyes widened in disbelief and slight exasperation. Again, that lavender hair was drenched, limp and stuck to the face of it's owner, and the long, black dress was soaked through, dripping wet.

But Chrona made no move to get out of the rain. Her eyes were fixed on the swirling gray masses above them.

Sighing slightly, the Shinigami straightened up, marching calmly into the courtyard. The girl did not yet look at him. Kidd wasn't even sure she was 'here' anymore.

"Do you just like to sit in the pouring rain and freeze yourself?" Kidd asked, raising an eyebrow. The pinkette Meister jumped, her blue eyes flickering to him and turning bright red; most likely out of embarrassment for being caught.

"H-hello, Shinigami-kun." She stuttered. Kidd frowned, walked forward and sat down beside the girl.

"Is there a reason you're trying to make yourself sick?" He prompted once more. Chrona looked away, to the ground.

"I...I like the rain...and I like listening to it." She admitted.

"I see." He was a little skeptical about this, but Chrona did mention that she wanted him to sit with him the next time this happened.

With another sigh, the Shinigami pulled his cloak off a little, took hold of the pinkette, and sat her in his lap. She immediately flushed far more than Kidd had ever seen him before.

"A-Ah, w-what are you-"

"I'll sit with you," He wrapped the fabric tight around both their bodies, ecasing the wet girl in the warmth. He pulled the hood over both their heads. "But I won't stand for you freezing to death while we do so."

"T-Thank you." The Meister heard her mumble, as she leaned her head back into his chest and settled down. Kidd shivered at the close proximity, but made no move to complain. This was nice, anyways; he could feel her heartbeat against his own.

It was silent, and the rain beginning to pour harder onto the two. Kidd wondered why she would do this when there was nothing but pouring rain, thunder and wind.

"What am I supposed to be doing?" Kidd asked, curious as to what element induced this kind of behavior in the normally depressed teen.

"Just close your eyes and listen." She whispered.

Kidd gave the back of her head on last skeptical look, closed his eyes, resting his chin on the top of her head, and opened his ears.

It was a well-known fact that by closing ones eyes, their hearing increased sharply. The sounds of the storm were suddenly so much more defined and clear to him all of a sudden.

Now that he thought about it...the thunder kinda sounded like...drums. Beating drums that reverberated to his core. In time with her calm and strumming heartbeat.

He listened to the strange tune as it suddenly picked up, growing in volume as the center of the storm came closer to Death City.

...was this what Chrona meant?

Now he could hear feet; many pairs of feet hitting the cement sidewalk of the courtyard. In his minds eye, he could see thousands of faceless but exotic dancers before them, pounding their heels and toes on the ground to another rumble of the drums.

A finger was gently tapping out the rhythm on his hand; Chrona's. It was timed perfectly to his own interpretation of nature's music.

The Shinigami found a soft smile crossing his face as the pinkette on his lap began to hum softly. Was she making up her own lyrics and melodies?

Oh.

The wind.

He could hear a voice singing in the strong gusts, high above them. Chrona seemed to know the mysterious voice's song by heart. He found himself unable to resist joining her as they swung their legs back and forth to the beat.

The stormy concert increased, heading into it's climatic moment, in which the rain fell to the ground in sheets, the wind was hitting higher and higher alot and soprano notes, and the thunder crashed and fought above them; like a battle of the Greek Gods and the Titans.

All timed with the quickening heartbeat in the girl sitting with him, as they listened together to the orchestra.

Kidd thought that his cloak was, at last, leaking from being out in the rain so long. But he didn't mind. His mind focused intently on the highest pounding of the drums, the feet dancing so loudly, the wind howling a beautiful note out.

Their soft humming ceased as the rain ebbed, moving away to pour the gift of fresh water elsewhere in the desert. The wind ceased to simple, gentle and sweet-smelling breezes that caressed his cheeks.

"What did you think?" Chrona finally asked when sunlight finally peeked through the swiftly fleeing clouds. Kidd glanced down, smiling in a very heartfelt way as her headed tilted up at an odd angle to look at him.

"That was...beautiful." He whispered, not minding that his lips lightly brushed against her forehead as he spoke. He felt the girl beneath him tense, turning red and her blue eyes widening. "Chrona, would you...mind if I joined you again, whenever it storms?"

Her blush turned deep, but she smiled in turn. Kidd took that as yes.

It was in that instant that Kidd decided that he liked thunderstorms, and the moments after them as a pretty rainbow was born high above their heads.

XXXXXX

**Author's Notes:** I don't see rain as a depressing theme in writing. As a matter of fact, I think it's fairly romantic.~


	14. On Your Shore

_**Author's Notes:**_ ANGST TIME!~ This was inspired by a tear-jerking scene from an RP I've been doing with Shinigamishi42 of Livejournal, a Soul Eater/Silent Hill crossover. Scary, gory, angsty, and super emotional RP for me, and one of the few I've done that has actually brought me to tears. YES I'M A WIMP, I KNOW THAT.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Strange how_

_my heart beats_

_to find myself upon your shore._

_Strange how_

_I still feel_

_My loss of comfort gone before. _

_Cool waves wash over_

_and drift away with dreams of youth_

_so time is stolen_

_I cannot hold you long enough._

XXXXXX

On Your Shore

Her consciousness was floating up through the stone floor and sinking down from the stalegmite-covered ceiling at the same time, pain giving way to utter numbness. The familiar, scared and grieving faces blurred with her tears and slowly fading life. She was falling...no, rising...

_Where was she going?_

_Chrona didn't know where she was going. Her, soul, her mind, her body, her being was moving far, far away from reality and further into this strange new sense of existance. She felt no pain all of a sudden, and a bit warm, not at all different from the heated, black wetness that drenched her body not a moment earlier._

_She couldn't move as she fell out of mind and space into a nothingness that wasn't at all scary. Sort of comforting from the utter terror, determination and regret from earlier._

_The next thing the pinkette was aware of was lying on her side, on some sort of surface that she could feel but not grasp it's texture. It was so disorientating to figure out where she was, if she was anywhere at all._

_Chrona could comprehend only one sound in the distance; the faint sound of a crying baby. Yes, the baby girl that had been growing in her best friend for the past 8 months or so. Soul had put his life on the line again and again to assure the childs survival. Stress must've caused Maka to go into early labor._

_She could almost see them in a hospital room, holding their newborn baby girl, but couldn't grasp the image properly. The only thing she could see when she opened her eyes, after figuring out which muscles moved her lids, and saw tiny specks of pink, white, light purple, and yellow all mixed together in a jumble of faded and sharp colors dancing before her eyes._

_Then she could see it clearly, if not for a brief second. Soul was leaning over Maka, tears silently pouring over his cheeks as he tightly embraced his daughter and girlfriend. The Meisters shoulders shook with soft sobs. A tiny baby girl in her arms blinked open huge green eyes, and seemed to flicker in the direction Chrona was staring at them from. She cooed, a single little hand reaching for her as though she just knew she was there._

_Chrona let tears roll down her face. She had been so excited to see this sweet child, and was saddened she could not see the birth. But...to know that this child lived on, after all the danger and fear, made all her regrets leave her disappear._

_Maybe death wasn't so bad if you gave your life to allow someone else to live on._

_It was then that, suddenly, her sense of reality and being somewhere shifted somewhere else, being pulled away from the image of the grieving but happy family to a different place._

_Something-no, someone-was taking her mind away from the little hospital room. She couldn't understand._

_The soft breaking and splashing of waves reached Chrona's hearing next, slow and steady, never ceasing. Her blue eyes flickered open to stare at a starry, starry sky, so pretty and peaceful._

_Her bare feet were being lapped at by warm water, and a cool breeze caressed her cheeks. She could now identify with the shifting surface she lay on: sand, unstable but powder soft and a brilliant tint of silver, though there was no moon._

_It was a beach, but most certaintly not the beach in the ocean of her soul. It was...more relaxing, not a hell she had made it out to be._

_"Chrona..."_

_The wind seemed to whisper her name, and it had such a nice pitch, sounding so familiar and comforting. A yawning hole in her soul seemed to suddenly disappear at the sound of it._

_"Chrona..."_

_No, this was a voice, and she knew this voice all too well. A pair of warm, golden eyes were suddenly brought into her line of vision._

_She knew those eyes..._

_"Ah!" She sat up quickly, startled by he sudden appearence. He...looked no different than from when she last saw him; strong, lean, and kind. He had always been kind to her._

_And that was what she liked so much about him._

_"It's nice to finally see you again." He chuckled, amused by her reaction as a rather revealing shade of red crossed her face, as did a soft, sad smile. Her eyes burned once more, much more painful than the burning of her cheeks._

_"It's...nice to see you too..." She mumbled, glancing down to her legs, suddenly speechless as to what she wanted to say to him._

_Over a year without seeing him had done some work on Chrona's mentality, especially after she heard...about what had happened to him. She had worked hard to move on, but still couldn't resist visiting him in the graveyard frequently as Maka's belly grew and grew with her unborn child._

_"I, uh..." She heard him swallow, and a blush blossomed across his cheeks. "I heard...uh, everything you said to my grave..."_

_He had? She wanted to panic and deny it out of pure instinct, but couldn't move. What she said to that simple slab of stone had only been out of a desire to let go her feelings and defeat the emptiness of unrequited love. So...he knew?_

_"I...was hoping you'd live a little longer..." He admitted, a finger making tiny little swirls in the sand, as though embarrassed. "Since I looked forward to hearing your voice at my grave every day...but..."_

_She saw him take a deep, shuddering breath. "I-I mean...if I'd...had a little more time...alive, then..."_

_"...Kidd-kun?"_

_She never expected such a fate to befall him, finding out about it after Soul killed Medusa and she came back to Maka. Her first love had died; kidnapped, then raped many, many times by his captor, and then killed just as Spartoi entered the book to retrieve him. Now, as he knelt before her, flustered and unable to speak calmly and smoothly as he always did, a spark returned in Chrona's heart after many months of staying completely burnt out with grief and regret._

_"Well...since...we're both in the same boat now, and..." Kidd's voice seemed to fail again. "...w-we've got such a long time ahead of us...w-well...ummm..."_

_Chrona's eyes met his as they flickered up to meet hers, such an intense emotion burning in the depths. Slowly, he leaned forward, hesitating at the very last inch, and then met her lips in a shy, chaste kiss._

_She let out a soft moan at this, unable to tell if the tears were hers or his, and kissed back softly, feeling inexperianced but eager. Her arms wrapped around his next gently, relieved and so very, very happy. The pinkette grieved for both their deaths, but even so, it had brought them together at long last._

_The Shinigami broke away, and then slowly wiped at his eyes. "I was hoping that...you know, you'd...move on...not be held back by me, but..." A warm hand, more realistic than it would've been in life, grasped hers tightly. "I've...been waiting for you for...a long time now, Chrona."_

_She smiled through her tears, allowing more to escape as their foreheads touched gently. Her life had been rough, from her birth to throwing her life away for Maka and her newborn daughter, so...maybe all of the pain had paid off at long last._

_A soft, warm pair of lips leaned towards her ear, brushing it gently as he spoke; the lightest and sweetest of touches._

_"I love you, Chrona..."_

_The pinkette half-sobbed and half-giggled, squeezing his hand tighter. They would be together now, certaintly not away from pain, but they still had each other at long last._

_"I love you, Kidd-kun..."_

XXXXXX

Soul hugged the souls, of a Meister and a weapon, in his arms tighter, whispering 'thank you's over and over again as he tried to get ahold of himself. His eyes flickered up to Maka, quietly rocking their child back and forth as she grieved over the loss of their friends.

He had her and his newborn daughter; it was going to be tough, raising her, but they would somehow make it through.

They had survived so much already. The terrors of that foggy town, the monster that took Maka's virginity, escaping from it, and dealing with her pregnancy.

They would make it.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ So, yes. I have totally been into the horror genre of gaming recently and an angst ridden RP was born because of me and ShinigamiShi42's desire to put the SE cast through utter hell. Hope it was to everyone's liking!

Also, may I make a quick reccomendation? "Amnesia: The Dark Descent". Get this game. _NOW_. Turn off all your lights, make the game window full screen, volume up to the max, put headphones on and

Scream.


	15. Boadicea

_**Author's Notes:**_ FIND THE ONE FREE MAN!

_**Disclaimer**__**:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky with Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

Boadicea

**White Forest, 9:30 P.M...**

She shivered as the chilly air finally managed to sink into her bones, watching clouds loom over the trees. It was quiet on the outside and in the previously noisy forest, but inside the base below her, Chrona knew there was turmoil and shouting and grief. She drew her knees closer to her chest and rested her chin on them, trying to fight the cold of the night.

The top of the roof she was sitting on was freezing, stark looking, and extremely uncomfortable, but right now, the pinkette didn't really want anyone elses company.

It had been a long, hard day for her...for all of them.

"You OK, darling?" She turned around to see a pair of familiar, honey-gold eyes watching her from the door that led to the roof.

Alright, maybe she did want some company.

"I...I'm alright, I guess." Chrona mumbled, absentmindedly stroking the bandage on her left arm, which hid a nasty burn. She turned red, despite all their time together, and looked down as Kidd approached her, sitting down next to her and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Don't lie." He sighed as the woman leaned her head on his shoulder, taking comfort in the way he stroked her well-kept lavender locks. "The whole place is in an uproar. Damn...if only I'd been there to stop it."

"But then...they would've killed you, too!" Chrona protested, looking worried. "I...I mean..."

She trailed off, looking at her shoes and wishing that she hadn't opened her mouth. They had suffered an m loss. Things weren't looking good right now. It was hard to put the tragedy into words.

"I heard...that they're leaving for the artic tomorrow, despite everything." Kidd pointed out a moment later. Chrona nodded.

"Are you going to go with them?" She asked.

"No." Kidd responded. "It's too dangerous, and I think we're needed here."

"Mmm-hmmm." Chrona agreed quietly. She managed to smile slighty when her beloved gently picked up her injured arm, pressing his lips to the bandage.

"Does it still hurt?" The Shinigami wondered, his lips moving against the wrappings lightly.

"A little." Kidd examined her arm a little longer before standing up.

"I'll go see if one of the Vorts are free." Chrona watched as he vanished back inside. Sighing slightly, she carefully unraveled her bandage, eying the burn that crossed the length of her arm.

Once, so long ago, this burn wouldn't have existed. Her weapon would've healed it in a minute, hell, a second! But now, Ragnarok wasn't here anymore. After regaining a human form, he set out to find his birth parents.

Chrona never heard from him again.

"Chrona Gorgon, she needs healing, yes?"

The pinkette jumped at the sound of a deep voice echoing from behind her. She turned to see Kidd walking back over to her, followed by the source of the voice.

A few years working with them had changed Chrona's preference on creatures like them. She was used to seeing the large red eye staring at her intelligently, the different and deep language, the hunched over position that they normally ran in, and the terrifying strength they would lend allies.

Vortigaunts were truely fascinating beings.

"Here." She said, not flinching as the alien held his two-fingered hand over her burn. Soft green light poured from it onto the burn, and she watched as, slowly, the shiny injury faded.

"Thank you." Chrona said happily as the Vort pulled his claw away.

"You have earned it, human." He told her. "Both of you fought well today. The Freeman would be proud."

"Where is Gordon, anyways?" Kidd asked. The creature muttered a few words in Vortigese before responding.

"He is attending to the Alyx Vance." He told them. "She is in great need of companionship in her hour of grief."

Chrona nodded in agreement as the Vortigaunt headed back inside. The pinkette smiled as she leaned back into Kidd's embrace, resting the back of her head on his chest and thankful that the ache of her healed burn was gone. His arms wound tightly around her waist.

"How did the last twenty years all go to hell?" Kidd groaned. Chrona sighed sadly.

"...I don't know..."

"I...feel responsible for all this, actually." The pinkette looked at her husband in surprise.

"Why?" The Shinigami looked away, from what looked like shame.

"It's just...back when Shibusen was still standing, weren't we Meister's supposed to defend the world? And yet we still failed, and...we lost...Maka, Soul, Black*Star, Liz, Patti, Tsubaki...Chichue..."

Chrona was silent, her eyes tearing up slightly at the mention of their old and long-gone friends. Well, sure they had defended the world from Kishins, but...an invasion of an alien totalitarian empire from a different dimension didn't really count in the equation.

Eventually, Kidd's tightened grip on her relaxed, probably as he shoved the thoughts of the day Earth fell into the back of his mind. Chrona didn't bring up the subject again, instead settling for listening to the rare, normal sounds of the forest, before all this happened. Still, those sounds were penetrated with the calls of the otherwordly beings that now inhabited the Earth.

"Hey Kidd," She whispered, in an attempt to quell her creeping paranoia. Her dearest let out a hum in response. "Once the war's over, where will we go?"

For once, Kidd didn't answer, which surprised Chrona. He always had answers as to what to do next, after the Seven Hour War. They drifted from base to base, helping whoever needed it, offering their strength when resisting the suppressors of the human race. Now, they had ended up at the White Forest base, after City 17 had been destroyed.

Her Shinigami husband simply stroked her hair, clearly thinking about their future. Chrona was surprised when a pair of soft, tender lips laid small kisses along the back of her neck. She shivered with a sensation she had not felt in ages.

"K-Kidd...?" She whispered. Kidd did nothing but trail his tongue to her favorite spot, right below her ear. "Uuuuuunnnnnhhhhh..."

She was pushed onto her back, her legs hitching around Kidd's waist as he eagerly pressed her body to hers, all but devouring her mouth as their identical blue clothing rustled against each other. Kidd was able to speak once Chrona's lips strayed to his neck.

"Dr. Kleiner...said the Combine's reproductive barrier is down..." Kidd groaned, moaning when Chrona's hands slid under his shirt, running along the planes of his chest. "We should...take advantage of that..."

"Yeah..." She laughed, their hands tearing at each others clothing.

Yes, the future was uncertain, but they had survived the Seven Hour War, the oppressment and cruelty of the totalitarian alien race, the collapse of the Citadel, and the fierce battle that took place not 5 hours ago.

They'd survive whatever came next.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ SO WHAT IF I'VE BEEN WATCHING MY BRO PLAY HALF-LIFE? I DON'T CARE! Boadicea is actually the name of the Celtic goddess of war.


	16. Caribbean Blue

_**Author's Notes:**_ A song with sketchy lyrics, but a pretty melody nonetheless. Definitely reminds me of being on a beach~ And meh, this one's kinda short, but this is a short song.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_So the world goes round and round_

_With all you ever knew,_

_They say the sky high above_

_Is Caribbean blue._

_If every man says all he can,_

_If every man is true,_

_Do I believe the sky above_

_Is Caribbean blue?_

XXXXXX

Caribbean Blue

**Bahama's, 3:30 P.M...**

Sea winds blew over the small condo before a stretch of white, white sand, tickling the face of the young woman who watched the sun gradually disappear into the watery horizon stretching far out before her. Her medium length lavender hair waved with the breeze.

It was all still a daze to her, the past 24 hours; one minute, she's walking down an aisle, dressed in white and completely unable to believe she is marrying the man she loves, the next, they're here on this quiet little island, in their own little world. The place was small and simple (and symmetrical), humble and designed to be as lyrical and gentle as the breaking waves themselves; a sort of melody for ones mind when curious eyes are lain upon it. Palm trees and other sorts of cool, green fauna hid the little cottage from anyone else who might go by on a boat or the whatnot.

Not long after arriving at this tiny little house, all to themselves, Chrona passed out from jetlag and the rush from her life being utterly changed in little over a day. When she awoke on the feathery, soft white bed in the lavish bedroom, her new husband was gone.

He must've gone out. There were no clouds in the sky, after all, and he clearly had disappeared somewhere to appreciate the symmetry of the sunset, possibly the beach. She stretched once more as another gentle breeze tickled her face, enjoying the smell of salt and wind, before stepping off the fine wood porch and onto the white sand path.

Chrona enjoyed the feel of such fine powder under her feet; a natural remedy for sore feet as it seeps between ones toes. The grassy field swayed around her as she walked on, taking her sweet time. Her legs carried her to the crashing shore, listening to the beat of the waves and water as it endlessly battled against the land. She finally arrived at the beach, and walked in one direction at random.

It wasn't long before she spotted him, just a little further down shore, facing away from her in favor of watching the the warm-colored sunset, his metallic eyes alight with the flames of the sinking, chuckling orange ball and hair slowly dancing to the wind. He looked content, thoughtful, and positively handsome.

Her Shinigami; all to herself.

The sand silenced her approach, but he clearly knew she was there. He let out a low hum of 'hello' when her arms wrap around him from behind. Her face buried into his dress shirt, right between his shoulder blades as she stroked his abdomen through the fabric.

"How was your nap?" Came his baritone voice, rumbling deep within his chest and reverberating to her. She smiled softly; something that he used to work hard to see.

"Good..." The pinkette loosened her grip as he turned around to face her. She reached up to kiss the corner of his mouth sensually and gently. He chuckled at that.

"You're so very tempting~" His hands dropped lower, below her waist to grope her lovely hips.

Chrona giggled softly before kissing him full on the mouth, and it turned into so much more.

Later, they lay content and sprawled on the white sand around each other, the sand nice and smooth against their bare skin as they recovered from their time spent rolling about in the powdery white, fine substance. The laughing sun was gone, but the grinning moon wasn't there, bathing the two in silver starlight instead. The ocean had gone a deep, midnight blue that soothed them as the air was filled with their pants and gasps for air.

"It's so nice here..." Chrona whispered after they caught their breath, tracing his chest muscles slowly as he let out a delighted sound. She smiled down at him sweetly. "Thank you for this."

"Chrona," Kidd said leaning up to kiss her once more. "You deserve as much, you know? No need to thank me."

"I love you."

His arms wrapped around her lower back as they began to nuzzle, breathing in his sweet, sweet breath and natural scent. She pulled him into another passionate kiss.

"Love you, too..."

So began another chapter in their immortal lives.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ Ahhh, a honeymoon scene~ How lovely~. I may do more of them in this environment. In the meantime, I've found more songs by that delightful singer Enya, and if anyone can find me any good ones, let me know!


	17. Marble Halls

_**Author's Notes:**_ Nother' AU~

...or is it?

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls_

_with vassals and serfs at my side,_

_and of all who assembled within those walls_

_that I was the hope and the pride._

_I had riches all too great to count_

_and a high ancestral name._

_But I also dreamt which pleased me most_

_that you loved me still the same._

XXXXXX

Marble Halls

**England, 7:30 P.M...**

She would always grow tired of the same routine, as she watched the many, many suitors wander the grand ballroom, chatting with the nobels and guests who had gathered for her 18th birthday. Chrona sighed boredly as she leaned back in her smaller throne, beside her father's as yet another one approached her.

"My Princess..." He greeted, holding out a jewel encrusted broach and, to Chrona, seemed no different than the other suitors who had come to call. It was the same thing every time; give a pretty gift to the pink-haired princess to win her favor, then try to court her, which Chrona most didn't know how to deal with. She had never been outside the palace before, therefore not knowing how to deal with many people, despite her training as a princess. Just to be looked on and admired, never spoken to like a fellow human being.

Except for _him_. _He_ treated her like a fellow human being.

She acknowledged the gift with a slight bow, taking it as the suitor backed away. She heard her father sigh. He was an unusual one, her father; red-haired and always courting the other maidens, ever since her mother died. But he loved both his daughters devotedly.

"Chrona, my daughter," He sighed, leaning towards her. "You'll never find a proper man to marry if you keep rejecting every suitor that comes to call.

"Father, I don't know how to deal with such things." She told him for the thousandth time, watching men and women waltz across the ballroom with laughter and talking so kindly to one another. She wished she could join them.

"The inheritance of the kingdom falls upon your shoulders." King Spirit told her. "Yours and Maka's."

"Father, Maka's getting married to the prince in the next kingdom over."

"Yes," His eyebrow seemed to twitch at the thought. Being the one to resemble his beloved wife the most, he doted over the younger sister than the older, not that Chrona minded. In truth, she felt sorry for Maka, dealing with her father as she was engaged to the white haired prince. "If he makes her unhappy, he will pay dearly..."

"Y-yes..." She stuttered a bit fearfully. Her father was scary when angry, and adorably simpering everytime Maka gave him a cold look whenever he tried to dote on her too much.

"Ah!" He suddenly got up as a unusually busty and purpled haired maiden from across the grand hall sent him a giggly wink. "Papa must be off on business!"

"W-wait!" Too late...

She sighed, leaning back in her seat. With her younger sister already being married off, Chrona had to fight off the crooning and hyena-like suitors with a stick. Maka had been eager to get married and away from her father, whom she'd felt a grudge against somewhat for the overly doting.

"Psst!" Chroan turned around the moment she heard it, feeling expectant. There stood Tsubaki behind the lavish curtain by the thrones, a servant particularly close to the two princesses.

"What is it, Lady Tsubaki." The maid pretended to hand her a glass of mead, while at the same time, giving her a small note. Chrona slyly sipped at the drink as she read the note.

**'Same time, same place?'**

Chrona nodded to Tsubaki, mouthing a yes as she passed back the note. She gave her utmost thanks to the girl as she slipped into the crowd, disappearing.

The pinkette tuned out the noisy guests, her chest instead tightening with anticipation. She _really_ couldn't wait for this to be over.

XXXXXX

**3 hours later...**

Chrona, thanks to Tsubaki, snuck out with the ease of long practice when the ball ended and everyone retired to bed. The gardens were dark and secluded; absolutely perfect for someone to hide from prying eyes.

Or rather, two people.

She could hear him nearby, and adjusted her nightgown as she approached the castle wall. The sound of someone scalling the rocks reached her ears, before he appeared.

Her face grew into a happy and excited smile as he jumped deftly from the wall, landing silently and immediately embracing her. The pinkette's fingers tangled into his soft, black hair, streaked with three white stripes, as he drew back to kiss her.

"You came..." She breathed when they parted. He smiled softly at her, gently stroking her cheek.

"Why would I not want to see such a beauty as you?" He giggled, making her blush.

"Sir Kidd..."

They had met by accident, when he was getting water with his two older and extremely close sisters from the well outside the castle. Chrona had heard them talking, like a tightly-knit family, when she was walking in the garden. He greeted her hello when she climbed a tree to see what was going on, and Chrona discovered what it was to have a friend.

She looked forward to him showing up to get water everyday, and before long, their little secret meetings had allowed romance to blossom. Kidd came almost every night, thanks to the kind servant Tsubaki, who believed that Chrona should marry for love.

Now, as they sat together in the garden, they plotted their scheme to elope from this all; to join him as a peasant and be his wife.

"It's going to be hard." Kidd said, taking her hand and kissing it chastely. He had promised not to do anything to her until they were married. "Getting you away and hidden from the royal family. But my sisters and I have a plan."

"My maid Tsubaki agreed to helpd us." Chrona told her. "And it's nice to know your sisters will help."

"Mmm..."

The moon had reached it's peaked by the time they kissed goodbye, to meet again later...

XXXXXX

Chrona slowly awoke to her dark, cell-like room, her cheeks flushed and brain recollecting all the weird stuff she had dreamed about. Her eyes flickered to the photo of her and her boyfriend on their first date to Deathbucks, and she reached from the confines of her covers to look at it.

"Huh..." She breathed, setting it down and rolling over on her side. "What a weird dream..."

Still, Kidd loved her. Even in her dreams.

She knew he did so as well.

XXXXXX

_**Author's notes:**_Such a pretty piece of Enya's I highly reccomend everyone listen to. Meh, this felt kinda weird to write, though, but whatever. OK, so next is the long anticipated conclusion to Long, Long Journey. See you then!


	18. Long, Long Journey: Part 3

_**Author's Notes:**_ We have reached the finale of this three part series, and it gets rather angsty in contrast to the last one. So, this is for you angst fans.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater or Left 4 Dead. Both series rightfully belong to Atsushi Okubo-sensei and VALVe. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Long, long journey_

_through the darkness,_

_long, long way to go;_

_but what are miles_

_across the ocean_

_to the heart that's coming home? _

_Long, long journey_

_out of nowhere,_

_long, long way to go;_

_but what are sighs_

_and what is sadness_

_to the heart that's coming home?_

XXXXXX

Long, Long, Journey: Part 3

_What was he now?_

_He was once Shinigmami, then he was not, and then he was again. But...he didn't feel like he was anything anymore._

_Why?_

_He knew why. Every time he'd look into the mirror, wiping at the misted glass from his hot shower after a particularly bad wave of paranoia and sense of un-being, he'd stare into his reflection. It sickened him each time, not because of the lack of symmetry, but the feeling that he was staring into someone that was not the person before the mirror._

_They looked the same. The same three-striped, golden-eyed, asymmetrical boy who conquered the worlds now most feared enemy. But the outside of him, looking so calm, was a sad, sad, sad lie._

_His mind was in shambles._

_Every detail was still etched into his formerly poor memory, all feelings that had been narrowed down the basics of emotion. The thrill of the hunt, relishing the screams of terror as he brought his prey down, the satisfaction of a stomach filled with rich, raw meat._

_The boy still wasn't sure what it was that was keeping him attached to earth. One, no, two of those factors had been destroyed...by himself. He had lost most of his reason to live in this apocalyptic world._

_He'd killed them._

_He'd killed them both._

_He'd ended their lives in that moment of finished transformation; he had been a savage, hungry animal when he did it. But he still did it._

_Those gut-wrenching sounds still rang in his ears even now; the screams of his weapons as they were brutally murdered before his shut eyes. Still he felt his hands tearing into their bodies, slicing cleanly through the flesh and feeling the heat of fresh blood splattering on his face, contorted with a savage kind of hunger._

_Meat was a thing of the past for him now; he refused to even touch it. Just the sound of the word made him close to losing what little he ate these days._

_There wasn't much left of him now; he was sick of the memories, sick of the primal and predator urges that would grip him when in deep, nightmare filled sleep, and just utterly sick of himself._

_Many times, when he would stare at his reflection, he'd want to grab the nearest sharp object and stab his eye out just to blind him from it all; symmetry, the guarded look in his friends eyes, the world as it was now, and his reflection._

_It got to the point where he couldn't stand his image in the glass anymore. His fist flew forward into the tormented Shinigami before him. It cracked artistically in many directions, like a spiderweb, the pieces beginning to fall to the sink below, followed by drops of blood, pouring from his bleeding knuckles._

_The image was shattered. _

_And the Shinigami on the other side of the looking glass was beginning to shatter inside as well._

XXXXXX

**Soul and Maka's apartment, 5:30 P.M...**

Soul stared at the dish that Maka called their dinner, making an odd looking face as he tried to comprehend what it was. Some kind of meat, it seemed, but smelled nothing like he'd ever tried.

"Maka, what is this?" He asked, scooping up a bit with his fork and biting into it. Not bad, a little tangy.

"It's Sherpa Momos." His Meister/girlfriend explained. "Not much of it, but the monks were kind of us to give us some supplies since we need to conserve on rations the best we can."

"So now we're eating some yak meat? Well, hope it's not too hairy." Soul joked weakly as Chrona served the same kind of meat to Blair, who was on the floor in her cat form and looking eager for something to eat. Meals were commonly shared with friends nowadays to conserve on food and what little resources were available to them. Solar power had it's uses, though, like keeping the water and apartment heated and at least providing some lighting and energy for cooking.

"Ah, it's getting late." Chrona glanced at the clock over the kitchen stove. She quickly ate her share of the meal and bowed in thanks to Maka. "I-I think I should go pick Kidd-kun up..."

"Is he hanging out with them again?" Soul asked, picking up the dishes and placing them in the sink. "All he ever does these days is go there."

"Soul, they're probably the only form of comfort he's got right now!" Maka told him firmly. "I-I mean...it's not like we can do much for him right now..."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying." Soul leaned forward, pecking Maka's check as a form of apology as Chrona nodded goodbye to the Meister and weapon pair. Blair walked the pinkette to their door.

"Bu-tan thinks you should wear a coat." She flicked her furry tail towards the closet, where a black, over-sized velvet coat hung, and good enough for Chrona's height. "There may be another storm again."

"Thank you..." She scratched the magic cat behind her ears, to which she let out a low purr in response. Chrona slipped inside the source of warmth and headed outside.

It was extremely chilly and there were some clouds gathering overhead. The streets of Death City were desolate, what few who lived here now taking shelter from the unpredictable weather. As Chrona walked out, she was struck with a sense of longing; longing for warmth to return to this city and for it's people, who were most likely dead despite their efforts to save them. She missed the desert.

The cold and hunger would have killed them before long had the locals, sheltered and safe from the Infection, not shown them how to find food and water. They were kind, willing to help and peaceful, like all those from the Buddhist religion.

Their welcome to this barren land had been warm.

But if only Tibet wasn't so cold.

XXXXXX

"So, refresh my memory," Zoey looked up from staring into space at the nearest wall to hear her name called. There, leaning against the doorway, was the raging, hating, hardcore Francis, looking at her in obvious perplexion. "Since when did we sign up for babysitting duty?"

"Oh, will you calm down about that?" She heard Bill shout from the kitchen. Zoey could smell the distinct aroma of cooking veggies. "It's not like he's doing any harm right now!"

"He used to." The biker muttered before trudging off upstairs. He'd been getting bored, lately. Three weeks of nothing but fighting zombies had given the four Survivors a thrill nothing else could match. Now that the Infection had pretty much stopped spreading (especially since there was practically no one to Infect anymore, at least, those within range of the zombies), they would wait it out a little longer before sending someone, who was preferably immune, to see the state of the world now.

And to admit it, Zoey was bored as well. She'd grown tired of the many gathered horror movies from the many empty houses, since taking part in an actual apocalypse had thrilled her to the max.

With a low, longing sigh, the girl in her late teens glanced down the the figure curled in her lap, asleep. She didn't know why she had taken to him recently, or him, to her. Almost like a small cat seeking comfort.

"Whatever..." She mumbled to herself, reaching down to stroke the three white lines encircling his head. His only response was to mumble softly before burying his face into her stomach.

"He's clinging to you again?" She looked up at the sound of Louis's voice, as he wiped what Zoey thought was soy sauce on a dish rag. She nodded. "I can't figure out why he keeps coming over here just to sleep or eat."

"Hey Louis," Bill called from the kitchen. "Have you ever heard of the bond between fellow people who fought on the same battlefield?"

"Yeah, but don't forget that he tried to eat us."

The veteran exhaled through his nose. "Even though we were on different sides, we both still had the same common agenda to follow in that hell; _survive_. He knows what it's like out there, we know what it's like out there. His goals may have been to stop us, but...we know very well how hard it is to survive out there."

"So that makes us the only ones able to relate to him in that way." Zoey finished, hearing the boy in her lap breath deeply, clearly falling further into his nap.

According to his girlfriend, he'd barely been getting any sleep at all, on account of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, clearly. He'd come to their shared apartment whenever he could, seeking a dreamless sleep (Which was obviously linked to their presence) or something to eat that he could keep down.

She was concerned for him greatly, far more than she had been when he was a Hunter. He was now a human being (Somewhat) in the same situation as them. They had to stick together.

And...at least he had people to come home to.

XXXXXX

_Why did she sign up for this job? It was boring as hell._

_With a sigh, the female Survivor trudged down the hallways of the giant school atop the city. The whole town had recently been moved to this barren mesa, amongst the Himalayas via giant robot that was the city itself. America had been overrun, as well as other countries. Most had already succumbed to Infection; people had either given up or were surviving for as long as they could. Zoey felt terrible, just sitting up here in the highest places in the world and unable to do anything to help them, but still, Bill had the right advice:_

_'We look out for our own.'_

_Indeed they did. Zoey, in addition usually helping some of the monks gather food and resources from the crags, kept tabs on the few Survivors taking shelter here and managed radio communications coming in from all over with the Tonfa Death Scythe, Marie. Already, they had contacted another Survivor camp in the tundras of Russia. They would wait out the Infection until every last zombie was dead._

_Zoey opened the door to that weird room Death resided in, knowing she was expected to bring a report of the possibilities of another Survivor hideout in Alaska, and stopped at the sound of a voice; one she was totally unfamiliar with._

_The former college student peered around the strange beams with blades atop them, and had to hold back a gasp at the sight of four people on the pedestal in the center._

_One was, of course, Death, in his goofy mask and clock, the second was that strange scientist named Stein, third was Chrona, and the fourth..._

_"Chichue..." His voice was raspy, low, and hardly audible. It was laden with guilt and utter pain. She knew who this was._

_Who could forget those white stripes?_

_"I..." She could hear him swallow. "As...your heir and son, and as a Shinigami, I...I'm ashamed of myself. And...I can understand if I...am no longer welcome here..."_

_Zoey watched the scene, wide-eyed with astonishment. The only forms of communication he had managed for the past three months or so were growls, snarls, purrs, shrieks, ect. To hear him speak was just so mind-blowing._

_Wait, on his face, was that a-_

_"I'm a disgrace to the human race, whom I was sworn to protect..." He continued, sounding very choked up. "So...I don't...deserve forgiveness...I doomed this world...I'm sorry..."_

_His father didn't move for a long moment as his now normal looking son bowed his head low, clearly waiting for punishment._

_She saw a flash of white before a huge, foamy white hand was atop his head in the form of a karate chop, though much, much more mild. She heard Death sigh softly._

_"Oh Kiddo..."_

_Zoey felt her eyes blossom with tears as the broken boy was gathered in his fathers arms, clinging to him tightly. She was absurdly reminded of what happened when...her parents were bitten._

_Her mother changed first, attacking and then biting her father. Remembering their zombie pact and at the request of her dad, Zoey shot him. She then retreated to the shower, turned the water on high, and sat there on the floor for hours, burning away the evidence and scalding her skin red._

_That's when she wandered away from the wreckage, armed with a hunting rifle and the weapon she'd use to shoot her parents. The chaos in the city escalated until she ran into the others. They stuck together like glue after that._

_She turned away as soon as she heard a sob from Kidd, trying to control herself and leaving the room. She felt like a voyeur._

_But still, that's what parents did for their kids, right?_

XXXXXX

Zoey wanted to look out for him in that sense, since they both suffered losses, and at their own hands, too. Forced to kill family and people they loved.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the boy stirred suddenly, lifting his head a little and looking at her with a tired, golden eye.

"Mmmm...what time is it?" He mumbled.

"Ummm, 6." She told him, glancing at the clock. "Mind getting off me now? My legs are falling asleep."

"Sorry..." He leaned back, rubbing his face and settling on the other side of the couch. She smiled as he curled into the pillow, only to lift it once more when a knock rang on the door.

"Girlfriend's here to pick you up." Zoey commented. Kidd yawned, sliding off the couch and trudging to the door. "Wanna stick around for dinner?"

"No, thank you." He grabbed his coat from the hanger, slipping it on and exiting. "Bye."

"You really think he's gonna' be OK in the end?" She heard Louis ask, bringing a pot of veggie stew to the table. Zoey breathed through her nose, sitting down with her adopted family as they prepared to eat.

"I can't be sure..." She admitted. "You can never be sure in these times."

XXXXXX

"But aren't you hungry?" Chrona asked him, holding her boyfriend's hand as they walked down the street. He sighed through his nose.

"No, not really." He told her, leaning on her shoulder. "Besides, I prefer your cooking."

It was enough to make her smile, that compliment, but then the tender moment was abruptly broken by a loud 'YAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!' right behind them.

Kidd, caught completely off guard, whirled around and swung his fist at the perpetrators face. He was knocked to the ground, groaning, and sent a glare up at Kidd.

"Dude, what is your problem?"

"Black*Star, you know better than to sneak up on me like that!" Kidd yelled. Black*Star pouted and, surprisingly, looked a little hurt.

"Ah, K-Kidd-kun..." She heard Tsubaki apologize, helping her Meister to his feet. "Black*Star didn't mean it."

"Whatever..." Kidd turned on his heels and stalked off swiftly, leaving Chrona behind with the weapon and Meister pair. She let out a long, sad sigh.

"You know, a while ago," Black*Star stated, brushing himself off and walking on, Chrona and his shadow weapon close behind him. "Whenever I would do that, he'd get mad, yeah, but...he'd never really mean it."

"He's...changed so much."

"We all knew that having him turn back to normal would never truly be...'normal'." Black*Star added grimly. "Well, there's nothing we can really do but be anchors for him now."

"Hmmm..." Chrona agreed, sighing. "So, where were you two today?"

"Climbing Mt. Everest!" Black*Star laughed, grinning widely.

"For the fourth time..." Tsubaki giggled softly.

Chrona waved goodbye to them as they turned in the direction of their apartment complex, quickening her pace to catch up with Kidd. He looked remorseful as she approached.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him like that..." He sighed, looking at her sadly. "He just...came up on my blind side..."

Chrona tenderly reached up, kissing the velvet, black cloth that covered his left eye.

Or rather, the socket that used to contain his left eye.

Stein, though on the verge of a breakthrough in curing Kidd, could not beat the Infection's pace. His eye dissolved and could not be salvaged even when Stein cured him. His disturbing shrieks of pain still rang in her ears. The memory flashed into her mind; him, hunched over, his claws clenching at the side of his face as the eyeball melted in it's socket and dripped red blood to the soft carpet of the living room. She shivered, and drew closer to him.

"It's OK..." She mumbled, hugging him. He embraced her back tightly, clearly afraid to let go of one of the few things that kept him to this hellish Earth.

No, it wasn't OK, she wasn't even sure if it would be one day.

XXXXXX

**7 hours later...**

Their nights together had become a routine that Chrona had long since gotten used to, even though she didn't like it. They'd go to bed after a long day of making the best of their now simple lives, possibly make-out for a bit if he was in the mood, or just plop down and sleep, curled around each other in his bed.

The nightmares would eventually begin.

Chrona awoke on the fly upon feeling the body next to hers squirm violently. This one seemed particularly bad, judging by the low growls escaping from his throat. She sat up on instinct before even fully awake, shaking him swiftly.

"Kidd, Kidd-kun, wake up!" She shouted, and leaned back automatically when he shot up, snarling.

In nightmares, he would occasionally revert back to that primal animal, waking up with disturbing growls and clawing at enemies that weren't there with claws he no longer had.

She waited for him to calm down, panting harshly with his teeth bared. Slowly, his face smoothed into one of shock, and then horror, and then revulsion.

Next came the rush to bathroom.

Chrona was at his side as what little remained in his stomach was sacrificed to the toilet, quickly falling into the phase of dry heaving. She rubbed his back reassuringly as he weakily reached up to flush the toilet.

One of two things would happen then.

Kidd would either get up, completely angry, and trudge back to bed, not uttering a sound for the rest of the night, but the pinkette knew he would get no sleep. Or he would cling to her, kissing her fiercely and needing a desperate distraction from the nightmares. He'd never speak either way.

But this time around...

"S-sometimes..." She watched as he leaned back from the toilet, drawing his arms around his knees and curling into a tiny ball, as though he was trying to hide from everything he feared. "I...I wish I'd...never been changed back..."

"Kidd-kun..." She tried to interrupt, but he held out a hand to stop her.

"...I can't even...begin to imagine...the pain they must've been in..." She knew who he was talking about, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "W-when I...I..."

He broke down for the first time since reuniting with his father. She simply held him as all his pain poured from him in the form of sobs and tears.

Liz and Patti; they were his everything, practically. The only thing that was possibly stronger than the bond between a Shinigami and his mate was the bond between Meister and weapon, much less two weapons. She couldn't even began to fathom his pain. He'd clearly been overwhelmed by the realization after changing back to himself again, if his refusal to speak upon being cured was anything.

"I-I-I...they were...my family...I loved them both...I...needed them...and n-now...they're gone..."

"Kidd-kun..." She whispered as he began to calm down, looking straight into his remaining, tear-stained eye. "They both loved you too, and...they'd want you to move on..."

She knew Liz and Patti would forgive him for what he'd done, but the only thing standing in the way of redemption was his inability to forgive himself. He'd continued to be tormented like this unless he just let go.

"..." He didn't say anything at first, other than lifting his head up slightly to kiss her lips lightly. "I-I know...but..."

"We all forgive you...and they forgive you, too." She smiled, and kissed the fabric over his blind side once more. His face buried itself into her neck, then. "I-I'm sure of it..."

She still couldn't be sure about his well-being, though. He was balanced on the precarious edge of either recovering or falling to the brink of suicide. It was difficult to push him in the right direction, but Chrona would do it.

As his lips began to gently kiss her neck, producing a low hum from her, she decided that she wouldn't allow him to fall into despair any longer. Sheets billowed as they hit the mattress, bodies winding together and dancing slowly. She wanted him to forget his troubles, and much preferred this to happen whenever he had a bloody, morbid nightmare. This might have not been healthy, using her as an addicting drug to distract himself, but it was all she could do for him.

They had to move on; they had to keep going.

XXXXXX

Eventually, the spreading of the Infection ceased. It would be a while, though, before the last of the zombies and Special Infected would fall to the ground, dead from being consumed by the virus completely. Shinigami-sama wasn't sure what to do until that day came, but following "The Zombie Survival Guide" seemed like a good idea; wait a good five to ten years before returning to the Nevada desert.

And when that would finally happen, what few humans remained on that ruined, empty planet would slowly peek out from their hiding places in various and desolate parts of the world, moving back to original homes, seeking friends and family who possibly made it to another Survivor camp, and restoring some semblance of life.

Chrona knew they would all make it to the very end of this long, long journey, as she held Kidd's hand tightly upon seeing Marie, sweaty but absolutely radiant, lying in Shibusen's hospital bed, holding her healthy baby daughter as Stein embraced his new family. The safe and successful birth of that child seemed to do wonder's on Kidd's state of mind. A new life had been born when everything else had been dying for so long.

A tiny bloom of hope for the human race.

He leaned on her as the others congratulated the new parents, a true smile on his face for the first time in so long.

No, they had made it to the end already.

All would be fine.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ So, there you have it~ Hope it was nice and tear-jerking!


	19. Stars and Midnight Blue

_**Author's Notes: **_So, let's have a short and sweet Christmas special, shall we?~ This comes directly from Enya's Christmas themed album that came out about 2 years back, which I recommend everyone listen to~

_**Disclaimer:**_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars".**_ Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Once you filled my hands with roses_

_Then you gave your heart to me_

_When a kiss had followed this_

_Love was meant to be_

_Time goes by_

_And the snow is drifting_

_Slowly in the sky_

_Cold, cold night_

_As you lie beside me _

_I can hear your heartbeat_

XXXXXX

Stars and Midnight Blue

**Outside Death the Kidd's mansion, 10:00 P.M...**

_Somehow, even as she stood in the ever-falling snow, it was warm. Maybe because of the happiness blossoming into life in her chest, driving away her normal depression, or perhaps it was him shielding her from the cold air drifting about them._

_The light from the doorway to his mansion falls onto their forms, and onto the snow on the ground. She never imaged such a thing happening after a Christmas party; his confession, his sweet gift to her, his heart._

_His pale cheek pressed to the top of her head, nuzzling her messy pink hair and pulling her closer. She briefly worried that he would squish the flowers between their bodies, but his touch and embrace was so gentle._

_"You smell nice..." He breathed. "Like lavender...and cotton sheets."_

_"T-thank you..." Her eyes glanced up to his smoldering, hypnotic gold ones. Such emotion in them; it made her face catch fire, and her heart beat erratically._

_"K-Kidd-kun, ummm..." She tried to respond to this, but the words wouldn't form. He smiled softly, and leaned in._

_"I believe you were expecting this." She tensed when the softest of of pressure was applied to her mouth, gentle and warm and just making her mind melt into absolutely nothing. Her eyes fluttered shut as she began to kiss back. So sweet he tasted, like the red roses he gave her and the stars hidden behind the clouds._

_He pulled away in a moment, flushed just as much as her. Such kindness, such tenderness._

_Such love._

_"I..." She swallowed. "I-I really do love you, Kidd-kun..." Her body was pulled close to his once more._

_"I love you, too..."_

XXXXXX

Chrona opened her eyes, pulling away from the memory in her minds eye back to the present. She was still on her back on that snowy hill, staring up at the sky, clear and starry and tear-inducingly gorgeous.

"Yes..." She breathed in response to her beloved's question: did she remember the day he confessed to her, just a day before Christmas? "I remember that day. That was the first time you gave me roses."

The Shinigami laying beside her squeezed her hand tighter, turning his head, with the completed Sanzu lines circling them, towards her.

"I do, too. It's been 500 years since that day. Has that much time really passed?"

"Yes." She agrees. "200 years of wandering the Earth until we settled here for good. I'm glad we came here, too."

Chrona loved the timeless lands of Ireland. Endless and green and pure. It was a blessed break from the bustling and overcrowded cities they often went to to purge pre-Kishin or get some food. Kidd did run Shibusen, yes, but he prefered a quiet life whenever he could. So they moved out to this green and beautiful country.

Green was her favorite color, next to the white of snow and the gold of his irises. It spoke of life and freedom, something she never had during childhood.

Kidd fell silent, and her head laid itself on his chest. She enjoyed listening to his heartbeat as they counted the stars, some having never moved and new ones having appeared in contrast to when they were first born.

The pinkette fingered and fiddled with the pendant around her neck; an eternally twisting Irish Knot, infinite and everlasting, like them.

"Merry Christmas Chrona..." He whispered. She shut her midnight blue eyes, once reflecting the stars above. If there was something she always loved to get for Christmas, it was roses, which were now sitting in a fine vase on their dining room table, in the small cottage where they resided in on the Irish coast, where The Celts once lived.

"Merry Christmas, Kiddo..."

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_Well, 18 years to this day, I was put on this Earth. And yet I still feel like 13 (and look like it). It's weird having a birthday so close to Christmas -_-;; And it kinda sucks, since everybody tends to not celebrate it much in favor of Christmas stuff. So yeah. Hope everyone's having a bit of a better day than I am.


	20. May It Be

_**Author's Notes:**_ Music from the LotR soundtrack! HURRAY~~The language of the Elves is so pretty.~ But I am taking a pretty song like this and putting it alongside a darker aspect of what our future might bring.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_May it be an evening star_

_Shines down upon you_

_May it be when darkness falls_

_Your heart will be true_

_You walk a lonely road_

_Oh! How far you are from home_

_Mornie utúlië (darkness has come)_

_Believe and you will find your way_

_Mornie alantië (darkness has fallen)_

_A promise lives within you now_

XXXXXX

May It Be

**American Midwest, Unknown time...**

It was cold. The stark night sky above no longer offered beauty, but a symbol that it was going to be freezing tonight. Among the howling wind, two figures struggled to cut their way across the barren land, enshrouded in cloaks of black and keeping their heads ducked down. Thick dust blew up from the lifeless and hardened ground, enough to blind someone. Fortunately, the weight of the huge packs they kept on their backs helped keep their bodies sheltered.

Their destination was what looked like a huge rock, sunk into the ground at a sharp angle. The first figure, the tallest of the duo, took the hand of the other, trying to have his voice be heard over the screaming breeze.

"We're almost there!" He shouted, and pulled the smaller figure along. "Just a bit further and then we can rest!"

She nodded, clearly exhausted. Still, when the dusty atmosphere above somehow allows the light of a single star to shine down onto the two. They spared a glance to the sky, drawing strength from the sight of the natural light.

Their battle against the wind eventually ended. They slipped underneath the rock (which was actually the wing to a war plane) and down into the dark hole hidden in it's crevice.

The lack of dust and dirt in the air soothed their eyes, as they walked down, down, down, deep into the Earth, stumbling along in the suffocating dark. They eventually spotted light up ahead, peering through the crack of a makeshift door's window, and head right for it.

Pulling off his hood, the taller figure knocked on the torn off plane door. It opened a crack, and a hulking figure appears in the harsh light, which illuminated the man's white stripes amongst his black hair.

"State your business." The other man said.

"My wife and I need shelter." The Shinigami deadpanned, pulling the now-revealed pinkette close to him. "And we're here to trade."

"Mmmmm..." He opened the door fully, and the two stepped inside.

The cavernous area deep underground was filled with people, all huddling close to small candles on the floor and wrapped in blankets. There was soft chatter in the air, subdued and relaxed. But among it was the sound of sick, wet coughing.

"Let's go find a quiet spot." Kidd said, taking Chrona's hand and leading her through the people on the floor.

The Shinigami set their huge knapsack on the ground before sitting down by the wall of the cave, pulling his wife close to him. They immediately pulled out a huge gallon of water and began to drink from it. He let the pinkette go first.

Their items inside their bag included two blankets, the gallon of water, a few boxes of dehydrated, military issued rations, a single pillow, and an iPod. They pulled these out, leaving the other useful doodads inside for trade.

"Where should we go next?" Chrona asked after they had eaten, curling up beside him and wrapped in the blanket. Kidd sighed, and pulled her close.

"They say that the west coast wasn't as harshly hit by the bomb." Kidd told her, burying his nose into her sweet smelling hair. "It still has clean lakes and some people over there are actually archiving various books."

"Like the ones we have?" Chrona asked. They had found an intact library on their travels, and had salvaged some of it's contents. Surprisingly, the library was in the town where the nuclear bomb had been dropped on.

"Yes." Kidd, sighing softly, shut his eyes, preparing to drift off. "They'll let us in if we have some preserved knowledge of the old world.

Human greed and wrath was something to be reckoned with. As mighty a force Shibusen was, it was helpless against the atomic bombs launched in the all out nuclear war. Those that remained were either blinded by the flashes from the bombs, disintegrated in an instant, or died in the fallout. Now, three years later, the human race was ignorant and primal, trying to survive. Those who had gotten to better end of the stick were gathering the evidence of society as it once was.

"Will we be OK, Kidd?" Chrona asked him tiredly. She sounded worried. "Will we make it?"

"...I don't know Chrona." He admitted. "But we'll try. It's a lost cause, but I will fight for it."

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ The future scares me. Seriously. Anyways, there's only gonna' be about five more oneshots, since I have other crap to be working on, and I will now be diverting all my creative energy into finishing this. Sorry, but that's how it's gonna' roll. Thanks for your support!

God, my head hurts.


	21. Orinoco Flow

_**Author's Notes:**_ Another one of them on their honeymoon, a bit Chrona-centric, and inspired by some awesome photography of the inside of a breaking wave. Short and sweet because my head hurts.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_From the North to the South, _

_Ebudae into Khartoum, _

_From the deep sea of Clouds _

_to the island of the moon, _

_Carry me on the waves _

_to the lands I've never been, _

_Carry me on the waves _

_to the lands I've never seen._

XXXXXX

Orinoco Flow

**Bahama's, 5:30 P.M...**

They say after the wedding is when you're at your happiness; post-marital bliss during a honeymoon. It's meant to be time spent together somewhere private and far from the world. For Chrona, time with Kidd was a gift; one she would forever cherish. She had eternity with him, now.

Still, there's only so much chilled white wine and fine food one could take. This place, this setting, it almost felt too luxurious. Too perfect. She almost _missed_ the turmoil and chaos of their youth.

The pinkette's form had filled out quite a bit as she grew, 'till her body bore the almost the same, sloping curves her deadly but drop-dead gorgeous mother had when she was still alive. It was most flattering in a two-piece bikini, as the pinkette walked out into the calm, blue shallows of the lagoon before the white beach. Kidd had left the island for a bit to bring more food back. She'd been craving goldfish. And guacamoli. Goldfish dipped in guacamoli.

The sun lit the the water in such a pretty manner. The deep, caribbean blue, with a mix of bright sun reflecting off it. There weren't any huge, crashing waves, just the gentle pushing and pulling of the shore. It was warm against her legs, too.

She stepped far out into the shallows, the water crystal clear, before sinking into the cool liquid, floating on her back and eyes on the sky above. Clear blue, not like her eyes, but rather joyful.

Things felt almost too perfect to her, as the waves bobbed her body up and down slowly and her contemplative gaze stared into the depths of the atmosphere above, she thought this over. Where had the unpredictability of life gone? This was her happy ending, maybe? Things were _too_ perfect.

Well, not entirely too perfect; she'd been a little sick lately, throwing up and falling asleep on Kidd at random times. Then there were the mood swings, which had her and Kidd baffled.

That was unpredictable.

Realization came to her in a jolt, just as a wave crested above her. She didn't know how to deal with that.

The universe could be reflected in a single droplet of water, and there were thousands splashing above her as the wall of water arched in a singularly beautiful movement. The colors of the sun were a kaloedascope, bent and twisted with the shapeless metal. She felt her head clear as she watched it.

Then came the reality of it crashing down on her.

After performing a series of acrobatic movements and spinning about the thundering water below the surface, Chrona kicked out towards the air above.

Her head broke the water, gasping softly for air. Soaked entirely and confused, her eyes looked for the shore.

"CHRONA!"

Said pinkette's head snapped in the direction of the voice. There her husband stood, holding eight bags of food, four in each hand, and staring at her in worry.

"Are you alright?" He asked as she kicked out towards the shore, and helped her onto the dry sand, which encrusted her feet up to her ankles in a light coating of pale flesh color.

"Yeah..." She said a little breathless. Her body was oddly giddy as he held out the grocery bags, looking baffled.

"I brought you food, but why the hell do you want to eat such a disgusting combination?" She smiled at Kidd softly, moving to kiss him.

"I'm pregnant."

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ I might do a fanspawn one before we reach the end. Dunno, what do you guys think?


	22. A Day Without Rain

_**Author's Notes:**_ Redone (OK, _completely_ changed) and re-uploaded since the crisis has passed, pretty much. Here's an kindasorta anthology on Death the Kidd, and a sorta-ish four-part fic in light of recent Soul Eater updates.

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belong to Atsushi Ohkubo. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**""**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

A Day Without Rain

**Death City, 5:30 P.M...**

He never knew how he came to be, really. His friends had mothers and fathers, while he just had the latter, and the latter of which was never really much of a father to him anyway. He was rarely there for him, at all.

Death the Kidd stood, precisely and straight, before one of the windows in his symmetrical room, watching the outside world in all it's hideous asymmetry, never truly comparing to the order and balance of his home.

The sky outside was cloudy, gloomy, making a false promise of rain. He hated the rain. Asymmetrical as the sound of it falling from the sky, and these types of clouds. They were patterned and rolling in uneven ways, not just one constant, gray blanket.

The wold was imbalanced and imperfect.

Just like the rampaging Demon Sword.

Reports poured in about waves and oceans of black consuming towns, turning them into solidified spheres of madness. No one was spared.

In a way, he could sympathize to Chrona, but not by much; they were on different sides of the spectrum. He the child of order and balance, and the Demon Sword the spawn of a witch of madness and destruction.

He merely felt for Chrona for what she could have become: a great student at Shibusen. But instead, returned to Medusa and betrayed them.

With a sigh through his nose, he thought back; back to his childhood, seeing where all the points were different in each others.

His earliest memories were of his father teaching him about order and balance, about his skateboard, but it was always in the Death Room. Shinigami-sama rarely ever came home.

And so, Kidd spent his childhood days alone, rearranging the mansion with no one to stop him. Once, he had gone out to play with Maka and Black*Star when they were kids, at Spirit's insistence to get him to play with others more. That had ended with Kidd getting a bloody nose from Black*Star after he ripped a page from one of Maka's favorite books. All play-dates were canceled, after that.

As he grew up, Kidd noticed more and more that most kid had a mother; a woman who cared for them, taught them right from wrong, and unconditionally loved them.

So, if he had a father, where was his mother?

The only answer Kidd got from Shinigami-sama when he asked was 'You don't have one Kiddo', and that was that.

It started to make him think there was something wrong with how he was being raised, but didn't think on it for too long. His father had power and the resources to cater to his symmetry obsession, make him happy.

Then came the day he went to Brooklyn, and was mugged by two women who could each turn into guns. Guns that were mirror's of each other.

At first, it was just out of his desire for perfect symmetry that he took the two in, but over time, they grew closer, and became a family.

Kidd couldn't imagine his life without them. He didn't know what he would do if he lost them.

He was reluctant to go after Chrona; the fact that several Death scythes had taken her on and lost, trapped in an orb of madness, made him fear for Liz and Patti's lives. He hated to risk losing them.

But still, in their circle of friends, there was still a gaping hole where Chrona used to be.

He even wondered if they could save her this time around. Probably not.

"Kidd?"

He turned around. Liz was standing at the door, dressed in her uniform.

"Hey Liz."

"Are we gonna' go."

He was quiet for a second, and then nodded.

"Yes."

As he and his twin guns were on their way to Europe to take out the threat, charging through the asymmetrical clouds, he was lost in his thoughts again.

He never had a mother, and he was fortunate to definitely not have one like Medusa, who forced so many burdens onto her child, starved her, made her into this monster.

That's why he sympathized with Chrona.

And he was starting to think it was maybe best to put the poor child out of her misery.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ Aaaaand done. Whoo. Now to get the final three finished.

So yes. I don't think Chrona's gonna' be around much longer in the SE manga. Which is a shame, cause s/he's one of my favorite characters. Well, good time to finish this up now, anyways.


	23. Wild Child

_**Author's Notes:**_ MOAR ANGST. Mostly a reflection of Chrona's thoughts because of what recently happened in the recent chapters so DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE LATEST CHAPTER THANK YOU.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_What a day, _

_what a day to take to_

_What a way, _

_what a way to make it through_

_What a day, _

_what a day to take to a wild child_

XXXXXX

Wild Child

_She was trapped somewhere in the eye of the hurricane of her soul._

_On the outside, it was chaos. She rampaged around the country, having finally gone too far over the edge. She cut down all who dared cross her path and absorbed their souls. They were all consumed by madness._

_On the inside, it was calm. She had found her inner peace by killing her mother, the horrible woman. And now she was free._

_Free to kill, free to come and go as she pleased, free to consume the world in madness._

_Inside her soul, the child sat on the beach, in a circle, and talking softly to her shadow._

_"Are you going to answer me at all this time?"_

_"Pass."_

_"Well, I tried. But anyways, that woman is dead."_

_"Mmmm..."_

_"What are you going to do now?"_

_"Pass."_

_"Well, if you don't know, I suppose it's fine. Even though you know killing is wrong, it's all you can do now."_

_"I don't know how to deal with anything else..."_

_"Not even Medusa's death?"_

_"Pass."_

_"When do you know you will stop killing?"_

_"Pass."_

_"Hmmm. I guess there is no hope for you now, anymore. Not even the nice girl you made friends with can save you now, I suppose."_

_"Maka..."_

_"Well, I'm going now." The shadow began to disappear. "It was nice knowing you."_

_Left alone with her thoughts, the tiny child looked up at the sky. No longer was it just blue sky, but swirling, raging storm clouds. There was water all around her, having tasted happiness and filling the ocean, but no breaking waves. It was all still. Frozen in time and unmoving; the ocean reflected the stormy clouds; a perfect mirror._

_She fell back onto her back, feeling no wind from the chaos above, and watched the clouds swirl in silence._

_The past few days had been an absolute blur to her. After that loving woman who claimed to be Medusa died at her blade, she couldn't deal with it._

_Who would guide her now? What purpose did she have other than pleasing and doing what her mother asked? It was all just too confusing._

_Her soul appeared about a minute later. Chrona fed it to Ragnarok._

_Then, after wandering away from the crime scene, she came across another village, and a small family who was traveling._

_She killed them all._

_As she stood over the corpses, drenched in both black and red blood, Chrona suddenly knew what her purpose was._

_To kill._

_It was the only way she could deal with people now._

_She would keep killing._

_Kill until she was killed._

_That was that._

_Her childhood had been composed of finding ways to kill people. To make them bleed the red blood that was so different than hers. Crush them, cut them, smash them, slice them._

_Kill kill kill kill kill._

_It was her purpose._

_She was a child of madness; a child of freedom and killing_

_A wild child._

_In her minds eye from where she lay on the dry sand, she could see her body moving. It was a beautiful thing as it killed and killed and killed everyone that stood in her way, that tried to run. She could see black blood consume towns and cities, hear screaming amidst her own mad laughter._

_From the hell inside her head, Chrona felt true peace at last._

_What an absurdity; finding tranquility in hell of all places._

_But it was all where she could go now._

_She didn't have anywhere else to go._

_No home, no friends._

_Just her and her madness._

_And the memories of a happier time._

XXXXXX

Chrona wandered away from her latest crime scene, encased in a heavy, pitch-black ball of insanity. Her movements were sluggish, eyes wide and pale with her own madness, and she clenched a thick sword that grew with every soul Ragnarok consumed.

"It's been a while." Came a soft voice from behind her.

She paused, turning around with an expressionless look.

"Shinigami-kun..." She slurred softly.

He stood there behind her, eyes cold and heartless. He was Death after all. That was what Death was.

"Chrona Gorgon," He said quietly, taking up a stance. "I've come to execute you."

She didn't say anything back to that.

Chrona didn't know how to deal with being dead.

The voice of Ragnarok in the back of her thoughts wondered what the soul of a Shinigami would taste like.

The Demon Sword turned to face him, lifting her sword and all the other ones held by the other arms.

"My blood is black." She murmured.

She charged.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ Enter key, you are my new best friend.

Slightly unfitting Enya song, but I still did it since the title was fitting for Chrona. Meh.


	24. Fallen Embers

_**Author's Notes:**_ I think this is my favorite song out of all of Enya's pieces.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Once, in the care of morning_

_In the air was all belonging._

_Once, when that day was dawning._

_I was with you._

_How far we are from morning._

_How far we are_

_And the stars shining through the darkness,_

_Falling in the air._

XXXXXX

Fallen Embers

_Their weapons clashed, sparks and explosions flew in all from their collision of power, and the environment was taking the brunt of it all._

_She was fighting Shinigami-kun with the single mindset of killing him, so she could get back to her rampage in peace, do the only thing she could do._

_Kill._

_The battle, however, was at the very back of her thoughts. She danced automatically, relying on muscle memory and her power to win. It was how she had been winning battles recently._

_Her thoughts were layered in a strange way. In the back of her mind was the fight, and between that and her forethought was nothing but bloodlust and the haze of madness. At the very front of her focus was the little girl sitting in the sand, watching the storm clouds rage above her empty, sandy world._

_There were bits of memories that had come to her thoughts upon Shinigami-kun's arrival. The flash of a green-eyed girl with pigtails, a happy feeling in her chest and the sensation of being safe and warm._

_They were just little tidbits, though, nothing of true significance._

_A near hit, which brought her unbelievably close to the entity of death, staring into his intense gold eyes as she charged past him while he dodged, brought a bigger chunk of memory to mind._

_She remembered standing outside a big building, watching the sky twinkle with stars above. The bleeding, laughing moon wasn't visible tonight._

_Her first solo mission as a student of Shibusen had gone successful. She gave Ragnarok the Kishin Egg souls to eat, and ignored his complaints that human souls were tastier._

_At night, when the school was empty and there was no one at all in the hallways, Chrona could deal with this new life. She didn't hate it, but she didn't exactly like it, either. It was difficult adjusting to the new lifestyle._

_But it was better than her life with Medusa, who starved her and forced her to kill._

_Anything was better than Medusa, at this point._

_With a sigh, she leaned against the railing a bit more. The desert was gorgeous at night; an endless sea of sand extending beyond the night horizon. The sky was clear, the air was cool..._

_And it was driving her crazy._

_The lull of madness and almost comforting nothingness of insanity was something she strangely missed. Being aware and coherent was something she couldn't deal with._

_Now she was forced to live with humanity's views on what she had done._

_Sure, it was worth it to be fed three meals a day and have people who actually gave a damn about her, but she just didn't know how to adjust._

_"Chrona?"_

_"EEP!"_

_Instinctively, she jumped around and backed away from the source of the voice, nearly falling off the edge of the railing in the process but managing to catch herself._

_"S-Shinigami-kun..."  
_

_The young heir to Death's legacy was looking at her curiously, standing at the door with two hammers in his hands._

_"I apologize for startling you." He said, approaching slowly. Chrona didn't know how to deal with him being this close, especially with Maka not around._

_And their previous meeting on the Niddhogg had been...rather violent._

_"U-Uh w-what do you want?" She asked quickly, hoping he would go away since she couldn't deal with him just yet._

_"Well, I was readjusting a few of the candle holders down the hallway, and I saw you out here. Shouldn't you be in bed?"_

_"O-Oh, I suppose..."_

_An awkward silence followed as Kidd pocketed his two tools and walked even closer, much to her dismay._

_"I don't think we were properly introduced." He said, looking at her calmly. "My name is Death the Kidd."_

_"...C-Chrona, Demonsword."_

_He nodded, and sighed slightly._

_"I suppose I should apologize that our first meeting had to occur wasn't while we weren't on the best terms." He said. "So, Chrona, I'm sorry."_

_"I-I see..." She mumbled, looking down. Chrona wished he would leave soon._

_Instead of leaving, he looked past her up to the stars above them._

_"What are you doing out here anyways?"_

_"I couldn't sleep..." She sighed._

_"Well that's understandable. But what I don't understand is how people can tolerate looking at the stars. They're the most asymmetrical thing about this planet." He groaned._

_"T-they are?"  
_

_"Yes! In an extremely random pattern that absolutely butchers the symmetry of the color of the sky above."_

_Chrona didn't know how to escape as he rambled on and on and on about symmetry, pacing the balcony and ranting._

_She didn't know how to deal with him._

_He finally stopped after who knows long, and looked back at her. He suddenly strode over to her and grabbed her by her hips._

_"W-WHA-"_

_He suddenly slid her to the left slightly from where she sat on the rail, and stood back._

_"There." He said in satisfaction. "Now you're in the dead center of this perfectly symmetrical balcony._

_Chrona stared. And then a soft, happy giggle escaped her mouth. It was mad, it wasn't insane. What he had done seemed silly._

_The first one in practically all her life._

_"What?" He asked her._

_"N-nothing." She choked out through her soft laughter._

_"I see. Now, back to the subject of balance of cooking!"_

_Chrona eventually grew used to his constant talk about symmetry, never getting really bored of it._

_Well, at least she knew how to deal with the erratic Shinigami-kun now._

_Kidd didn't stop talking until he looked over her shoulder again._

_"Oh." He said, blinking._

_Chrona turned around. The horizon was slowly being stained with creamy colors. The Meister suddenly became aware of how tired she was._

_"Well, bedtime for us then." Kidd said as Chrona slowly slid off the balcony, heading for the doorway. Kidd followed her. "I apologize for getting carried away like that."_

_"Ummm...it's alright."_

_"Well," He gave her a smile. "Thanks for listening."_

_He turned down another hallway, and Chrona watched him go._

_Maybe she didn't know how to deal with Shinigami-kun yet, since she didn't know how to deal with the strange clenching in her chest that had followed his smile._

XXXXXX

The memory was shattered when the mouth of two cannons where shoved into her abdomen so suddenly, and fired.

Chrona was sent flying, but managed to recover in midair.

Their Dance of Death began again; a dance in which only one partner would survive.

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ One more oneshot to go after this. Wow.

Awesome.


	25. The Longships

_**Author's Notes: **_So, this'll be the last one. I'm really happy all of you guys liked this. I know I got weird every now and again, and I thank you guys for putting up with it. Enjoy my final entry to this little oneshot/drabble collection, and then I can move onto other stuff.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Soul Eater. The series rightfully belongs to Atsushi Okubo-sensei. Plot belongs to me.

_**Reminders:**_ Welcome to the theater that is my mind. While in the theater, we ask that you please refrain from the following: No smoking, no believing, no noise, no killing, and absolutely **NO** detection. This is _**"Paint the Sky With Stars"**_. Enjoy it with us.

XXXXXX

_Hoireann is oro tá muid beo_

_Him oro ho go deo na ndeor_

XXXXXX

The Longships

She lost.

Her body lay, weakened and broken, in the churned up dirt and debris, staring at the cloudy sky. There was the smell of rain in the air.

Chrona never really knew how to deal with rain.

She didn't know how to deal with dying either.

Facing her demise, she was yanked out of the calm center of her own chaos back into reality. Her mind was still fuzzy and filled with static; madness, but she could see her executor clearly.

Death loomed above her, face as cold and expressionless as before. He was beat up, scratched, splattered with dirt and blood, but still strong and standing.

Chrona blinked at him, having not the strength to make an effort to flee.

Maybe dealing with the dead was easier than dealing with living, after all. She hoped he would get it over with.

"...are you going to kill me?" She asked in a dead voice.

The Shinigami didn't move, his twin guns still pointed at her head.

"I don't think I know how to deal with dying..."

He didn't let up his stance, but his expression seemed to soften.

"Now there's a line I haven't heard in a long time." He murmured.

"Huh?"

"I'm assuming you still don't remember us." He said.

"No. I do." Chrona responded softly, still unmoving and making no effort to get up. "I remember Maka. And Soul. And you."

"I see."

"I can't deal with the fact that I betrayed you all. And I can't go back." She shut her eyes. "So I did the one thing I knew how to deal with; killing."

"..."

"So...you won. I can't kill anymore, and I don't know how to deal with that."

A long silence followed this. Chrona waited, fearfully still, for the sound of his guns to fire and kill her. The longer the silence stretched, the more edgy and nervous she got. She just wanted it to be over with.

She didn't know how long she lay there, but she heard his guns cock, and her eyes squeezed shut tighter, awaiting the bullets that would end her.

Another silence, before the Shinigami let out a long sigh.

"If I killed you, Maka would make sure I regretted it forever."

Chrona opened her eyes slightly, looking up at him. He looked somber.

"H-huh?"

"I don't know how you can redeem yourself at this point, in the eyes of Shibusen, at least, or if Maka would even forgive you for this." He said. "But if I am going to be the next Death God, I suppose even you deserve mercy."

The Meister suddenly became scared. Live without killing? The only thing she was good at? She couldn't deal with that!

"W-why?" Her voice trembled as she sat up, finding strength in her fear.

"Hmmm?"

"W-why won't you kill me?"

"Well, I don't want to."

"But-"

"Your mother was the one who decided you should be this way." He said to her, crouching the her level. "You would've been one of the greatest Meister Shibusen had ever seen had she not threatened you like that."

"She isn't my mother..." Chrona whispered tightly. "She was so...kind. That woman wasn't my mother..."

He blinked, confused.

"I-I'm sorry, what-"

"My mother would never say things like that to me. She never loved me. I-I don't remember if she was important, but...she made me throw everything away for her. And then she threw me away. SHE FUCKING THREW EVERYTHING AWAY!"

Her sword lunged forward towards the Reaper, who dodged easily due to her lack of actual strength and grabbed her arm.

"L-Let go!"

"Chrona, listen to me."

He knew her name. How did he know her name? It was getting hard to remember. She found it hard to jerk her arm out of his grasp.

"Is Medusa dead?"

She swallowed the bile building up in the back of her throat, and nodded. The dark boy bit his lip

"...I see."

"Ragnarok ate her soul." She mumbled. "That shitty old hag..."

Shinigami-kun didn't say anything for another minute, and Chrona itched to get away from him. She had to either kill or be killed. She didn't know how to deal with anything in-between those two options.

"...Chrona," His grip became gentle, but was still firm. "The only thing holding you back from becoming your own person again is yourself. You don't have to do what Medusa ordered you to."

"B-but I can't-"

"Then you'll learn." He murmured softly, pulling her to stand with him. "If I am to make this world a perfect place, then there's no room for killers like you. So...can you become someone who doesn't kill?"

She was silent. The survival instinct that had all but been snuffed out during her madness induced rampage had it's spark returned. A chance to live, a chance to defy that bitch's orders, a chance to live.

She couldn't deal with it.

But still...

"I-I'll...try..." She murmured.

Kidd nodded slowly.

"Come on then..." He said, tightening his grip on her arm and leading her forward. "Let's start walking."

Chrona followed silently.

She couldn't deal with this. Not at all.

But she would try.

And some part of her knew Kidd would help.

Her tears were falling before she could stop them. She couldn't help it. She was confused and frightened.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stopping short.

"I-I-I-I-I-" She paused to sniffle. "I d-don't know how to d-deal with this."

A sigh, and then warmth enveloping her.

"A-ah-"

"Try, then." He murmured into her ear. "For me."

The heaven's above them finally began to pour water down onto them, cold and wet.

And refreshing. Her tears mixed with the rain.

"I-I...I will."

That was good enough for now.

XXXXXX

_We are alive_

_Always tears, crying_

XXXXXX

_**Author's Notes:**_ I'M DONE! YAY! This probably won't be my last KiddxChrona fic, but I'm glad that I finally finished this. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll maybe see you another time in another fic.

Also, I may upload an FST with all of the Enya songs I listened to while writing these. The keyword is maybe.

But anyways, thanks everyone!


End file.
